Cavan Literary Night - 2 December

AT The Edge, Cavan, proudly presents: The Cavan Literary Night with Three Border Poets: Noel Monahan, Kate Ennals and Dermot Maguire

Tuesday 2 December 2014, 6.30pm – 8pm in Johnston Library, Farnham St, Cavan

Followed by Open Mic (one poem or one page of prose – register at 6.30pm –  first come, first served. Further information from kateennals@live.co.uk )

The evening also includes the launch of a pamphlet of the Cana House Poets, 3rd series.

Event Free. Everyone welcome.
Supported by Cavan Arts Office

November "The Co Club".

Friday 28th November 2014. Creans Bar, Oldcastle, Co.Meath. 9:00pm - the November edition of  "The Co Club".

Music on the night will come from Brian Mooney and Dylan Tighe.

Art on the night will be displayed by local artist Michelle Boyle

Local award winning poet and publisher, Peter Fallon, is the special guest and he will read some poems from his latest collection 'Strong My Love'

It will be a night to remember so come along and enjoy a night of music, art and poetry. Free Admission

Francis Ledwidge Awards Results

The Francis Ledwidge International Poetry Competition results have been announced. This is an annual competition organized by the Inchicore Ledwidge Society.

I was delighted to have my poem, Tidying after Visitors, highly commended. Last year's winner was Mairéad Donnellan of LitLab and this year three LitLabbers made the lists, Pat Devaney, Andy Jones and myself. A good show as well by Doghouse poets.

Winner: Ann Moriarty, Co Limerick. Poem:  Preparation.
Second Place: Orla Martin, Dublin. Poem: The Poets.
Third Place: Liam Ryan, Co Laois. Poem: Orpheus.

Highly Commended:
Kevin Lynch. Dublin. Catherine Ann Cullen, Dublin. Christine Broe, Dublin. Eamonn Lynsky, Co Dublin. Denise Ryan, Dublin. Mari Maxwell, Co Galway. Karen O’Connor, Co Kerry. Michael Farry, Co Meath. Dawn Sullivan, Co Kerry. Ray Mullen,  Dublin.

Commended:
Gerry O’Donnell, Dublin. James Conway, Dublin. Aine Lyons, Dublin. Patrick Devaney, Co Cavan. Mary Melvin Geoghegan, Westmeath. Mary Jo Gibbons, Co. Meath. Patrick Waters, Dublin. Andy Jones, Co Cavan. Gearoid O’Brien, Co Westmeath. Margaret Zheng, Dublin.

The Awards Ceremony will take place at Donoghues, The Glen of Aherlow, 29 Emmet Road, Inchicore, Dublin, on Thursday 27 November 2014 at 8.00pm.  All are welcome.

Cafe Writers Poetry Competition

 Cafe Writers Poetry Competition 2014. Closing Date 30 November 2014.

Prizes: 1st  £1000; 2nd £300; 3rd £200; Six Commended Prizes of £50.

Entry Fee: £4 per poem; or £10 for 3 poems and £2.00 per poem thereafter.

The judge is David Morley, Professor at Writing at Warwick University and adjunct Professor at Monash University, Melbourne. His collections include The Gypsy and the Poet (Carcanet, 2013), a PBS Recommendation and a Morning Star Book of the Year, and Biographies of Birds and Flowers: Selected Poems (Carcanet, 2015).

Competition Rules: Maximum of 40 lines per poem (excluding title). Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant, in English, and must never have been published, self-published, published on any web-site or broadcast. Enter by post or online using Paypal.

Prizewinners will be notified in writing by 31st January 2015.

Full details on website.

New Poetry Anthology - Fathers

I'm delighted to have a poem included in this anthology, fathers and what must be said. Thanks to the editors Michael Corrigan and Michael H Clay.

The launch date is Saturday 29 November at the Spinning Wheel in Castletownroche, County Cork.

Here is the full list of poets whose poems have been chosen for the anthology:
Bradley R Strahan; John Davis; Jim Gustafson; Liam Aungier; Peadar O’Donoghue; Helene Cardona; Joe Baldwin; Paul Ó Colmáin; Greagoir ODuill; Jim Lewis; Michael Farry; Nessa O’Mahony; Si Philbrook; Pete Mullineaux; Robert Lipton; Alan Halford; Andrea Potos; Rachel Davies; Jim Hart; Joe Healy; Karen Foster; Hugh McFadden; Tyler Tsay; Tim J Brennan; Derek Coyle;Philip Quirke; Muesser Yeniay; Nicki Griffin; Harry Man; Robert Harper; Simon McCormack; Janice Windle; Amanda Bell; Harry Owen; Ruairi Gough; Gene Barry; Anna Tannam; Roy Marshall; Saskia Stehouwer; Ronnie McGinn; Jeannie E. Roberts; Anne Elezabeth Pluto; Gina Nemo; Maurice Devitt; Michael Corrigan; Karen O’Connor; Michael H Clay; Shirley Bell; Miceál Kearney; Tory Campbell; Marie O’Halloran; Michael Brown; Erin Murphy; Rita Chapman; Liam Ryan; John Saunders; Darren Donohue; May Leonard; Steven F Klepeter; George Harding; Maria Whelan

Reading: War Poets and War Poetry

In Flanders Fields - War Poets and War Poems An evening of history, poetry and poems with an introduction from guest poet and historian Dr. Michael Farry.

All Welcome. Come along and read your favourite war poem.

Venue: The Yeats Memorial Building, Sligo. Date: Tuesday November 11th. Time: 8.00pm

I was delighted to be asked to contribute to this - any excuse to spend some time in Sligo and the Yeats Society readings are always welcoming and friendly.

Not easy to decide what to say and read but I have decided to talk a little about what the term "War Poetry" covers and how this has changed since 1914. I'll talk about which poets are now regarded as belonging to the canon of War Poets. I'll read some lesser well-know war poems, some by women including Irish authors and some local Sligo writers.

Being in the Yeats Memorial Building I'll also make some reference to Yeats' attitude to war poetry and the war poets.

Lots of discussion and poems available online. For example:
First World War Poetry Digital Archive.
At the Poetry Foundation.
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/
Female Poets of WW1 Blog.

Fish Short Story Competition

Short Story Prize: €3,000. The ten best stories will be published in the 2015 Fish Anthology.

This year's judge, Jennifer Johnston, has been described by Roddy Doyle as "Ireland's greatest writer." She is the recipient of many awards, including The Whitbread Award for The Old Jest, and a Lifetime Achievement from the Irish Book Awards, and has been short-listed for the Booker Prize. She has published 16 novels and five plays.

Closing Date: 30 November 2014; Word Limit: 5,000; Results: 17 March 2015; Anthology Published: July 2015; Submission Fee: €20 for first, €10 thereafter.

Critique of your story (optional): €45, available year round.

First Prize: €3,000; Second Prize: A week in residence at Anam Cara Writers Retreat in West Cork.

Please read the Full Details before entering. Read stories from previous Fish Anthologies

Writing tips at Fish

Submissions may also be sent by post to Fish Publishing, Durrus, Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland.

Cafe Writers Poetry Competition

Cafe Writers Competition 2014: Deadline 30th Nov 2014 - Less than One Month To Go

There are £2000 in prizes and our sole judge this year is David Morley.  There is no sifting.
Prizes: 1st  £1000; 2nd £300; 3rd £200; Six Commended Prizes of £50; Funniest Poem not winning another prize £100

Entry Fee: £4 per poem; or £10 for 3 poems and £2.00 per poem thereafter. Full details and enter and pay online.

Café Writers is a Norwich based  grass-roots writers’ network supporting and  showcasing work by established writers in all genres. It also encourages and champions new work by emerging writers. It is run entirely by volunteers that are passionate about encouraging wider participation and excellence in literature.

Café Writers is run entirely by unpaid volunteers and the competition the only significant  source of funding to fund the programme.