Poetry Bus 5

 

Illustration by Steve Simpson

Ever (like me!) get tired, worn out or despondent while waiting weeks, that turn into months for an acceptance or rejection? Well here's some good news and an editor who cares... Peadar O' Donoghue  of The Poetry Bus Magazine has this to say....

'PB mag.
Accepts simultaneous submissions (be sure to tell us though)
Accepts emailed submissions
Acknowledges your submission right away
Replies with a yes or no with a personal email
Replies within one calendar month Maximum
... Often replies within a week'

To submitt to the Autumn 2013 issue of PB email 4 or 5 poems (max)to thepoetrybusmag@gmail.com
Offers of artwork/illustrations are also welcome.



So good luck, and happy Easter :)

Crannog 33

Crannóg is one of Ireland's leading and longest running literary magazines; the closing date for Crannóg 33, the summer issue, is March 31st.  They accept submissions of poetry (no more than three poems under 50 lines) or prose (one story of under 2000 words). Submissions by email only, for more details click here

Fish Poetry Prize

There are a few days left in which to enter your poems (max 300 words), the competition closes on the 31st of March, and the results will be announced on 15th May. This years judge is Paul Durcan.

Coming in June

It's getting close to publication date ( June 6th), which is both exciting & terrifying. I'm trying to immerse myself in this new book I'm writing to keep from having daily panic attacks - its deadline is my lifeline :)

retreating...

photo by Sarah Clancy

photo by Sarah Clancy

If its been quiet here for a while, its due to the fact that I've been temporarily living a life miles away from my own. I've been hanging out at the edge of the world, listening to the sea, meeting other writers, quaffing wine, laughing, running, keeping the stove burning, day dreaming, night dreaming and scribbling. I was on a retreat at Cill Rialaig - a restored pre-famine village on Bolus Head at the very end of the Iveragh Peninsula.

Once away from the routine and chores of daily life, work, motherhood etc... I imagined that I'd be writing every second of every day, even through the night, would I even have time to eat? In truth, it took a few days of wrestling with stories that needed endings, poems that needed clear eyes before I could begin to write anything new. And no, I didn't write every minute of every day - I couldn't live somewhere so beautiful and atmospheric and keep my head down. That wouldn't be living. More and more, I'm finding that I need to strike a balance, and surprisingly that means writing less and living more, in order to have a better quality life as a writer. So I wrote early and wrote late, and in between I ran, prepared meals, and met with the other residents who were full of fun, warmth & stories of their own.

The suspicion that my house was slightly haunted has provided fuel for the novel I'm working on at the moment, as has the brutal, beautiful scenery of Cill Rialig itself. I ended the week by travelling to Cork and reading as guest poet at ó' Bheal session, brainchild of the charming and talented Paul Casey.

And, for anyone with a story or poem that needs a home...

The Cúirt New Writing Prize is still (just about) open:

The poetry entries must consist of 3 poems under 50 lines each, and the fiction pieces may be up to 2000 words. Entries in both English and Irish are welcome.Three copies of the work are required and a €10 entry fee applies, which must be a postal order or bank draft. Writers submitting work should not have had a collection published in the category in which they enter.This does not include the publication of single poems, stories or chapbooks. Send to - The Galway Arts Centre,47 Dominick Street.