Ballymaloe Poetry Prize & other things

The Moth Magazine

Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize is organised by  The Moth Magazine and will be accepting entries from June 1st. The cash prizes are 10,000 euro, 2,000 euro and 1,000 euro. yes, that's right. 10,000 euro. Can you imagine? The details are here The summer issue of The Moth will be out soon. I'm delighted to have a poem called 'Petronella' included in this edition. As you can see from the image, its always a stunning production.  And if you are ever stuck for inspiration, I can recommend Magpie Tales for interesting weekly writing prompts.

I'm always interested in how other writers organise their writing time, so if anyone would like to feature in guest post or blog interview on that subject let me know in the comment section. I'm especially interested in 'multi form' writers, it can be challenging enough to prioritise writing in every day life, but how within that do you prioritise your novel, short stories and poetry? Which comes first?

At the moment, my novel comes first but when I hit a certain amount of words I treat myself to some time working on my current short story. I write poetry in a more random and sporadic way (ie when I should be doing other things!) Blogging (as you might have noticed!) comes last, at maybe one post a week. I would love to talk to other writers about how they portion out their brains, and how long they go before they start to feel dizzy :)

The Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize 2012

 

Just in from the Moth Magazine - The Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize 2012 is officially launched! The first prize is €5,000 (!) plus two nights B&B for two (including one evening meal). The second and third prizes are €1,000 and €500 respectively. 

 

The judge this year is Leontia Flynn, winner of a Forward Prize for Best First Collection and a Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. You can enter as many poems as you like. It costs €6 per poem (or €7.50 per poem if you're sending a money order).

You can enter online via the website or send your entries to:

The Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize
c/o The Moth
The Bog Road
Dromard
Cavan
Co. Cavan
Ireland

The closing date is 31 December 2012.Thats plenty of time to get writing, and its international too, open to anyone, anywhere...and the new edition of the Moth looks gorgeous!

Irish Literary Magazines

I'm re posting this list due to popular demand. (i.e. a few people have asked!)

Its wisest (and kindest) to purchase a copy of a magazine before you send your pieces. (They are labours of love after all) Double check the submission guidelines: check submission deadlines, line spacing, the number (and word count) of poems/stories the magazine will accept at any one time. The journals can vary wildly in style so reading recent copies in advance can save you a lot of trouble. A poem that would be instantly rejected by one could be published by another.

Make sure your work is perfect down to the last comma, its not the editors job to see the amazing potential behind the typos:) An excellent way to check a piece is to email it to yourself before sending it for submission. Most journals don't pay but you will get a contributors copy of the magazine, and maybe even an invitation to a launch where you can meet other emerging writers and share your plight (highly recommended!)

These are Irish Magazines only, for a worldwide view try searching Duptrope. Duotrope is a free resource for writers of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. They have a data base of over 4,200 active publishers, give statistics on publishers' response times and acceptance-rejection ratios.

A click on the title of the magazines below will bring you to the sites and further information, and good luck!

Poetry Ireland Review

poems, articles, reviews

Abridged
Poetry/Art
themed issues

Southword
online magazine (pays)
Poems, fiction, reviews

thefirstcut
online magazine
poetry, short stories & flash

The Stinging Fly

Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Images

The SHOp
Poetry

Boyne Berries

Poetry and Prose

Crannog
Back issues available as free pdf downloads.
Poetry and prose.

The Moth
Poetry, short fiction and Art.

Revival

Poetry, short fiction and extracts.

The Poetry Bus
Poetry and Illustration
(includes a CD)

Roadside Fiction online magazine
realist fiction

Plotting

I never outline or plan in the early stages because I love that sense of discovery that comes when writing a first draft. Although this does mean that later drafts involve a lot of rewriting (and cutting) as I try to figure out the plot, once the basics of what happened, and then what happened... are in place- it gets juicy again. I used to dread plotting but shaping a story, identifying its twists and turns can be really enjoyable, this quote from Rikki Ducornet, sums it up for me -

'Plot is not secondary but essential, the heart of the matter, the bright web that connects all of the elements and causes them to throb and shudder.'

Delighted to say that my short story, 'Since I became a Monster,' will be in the next issue of Crannog, (to be launched in The Crane Bar at 6.30 on the 24th February), and also, a poem of mine, 'Sleeping Beauty's Take' will be in the spring edition of The Moth Magazine. The Moth is currently running a short story competition (deadline 31st March) which is open to anyone, living anywhere. Happy Writing. Happy Wednesday:)

Launch Of Moth Editions Series

A new venture for one of the most delicious of literary magazines. The Moth Series will be launched this Friday 7th October ( in the Moth office, Second Floor Studios, The Former See House, Kilmore, Cavan) There will be readings from 7.30 onwards. It should be a great night. All are welcome, so if you're lucky enough to be nearby, do drop in :)

The aim of the series is to present new work by up and coming writers and selected work from already established writers from Ireland and abroad. The first four titles in the series are Some Poems by Kate Dempsey , Dermot Healy, Ted McCarthy and Ciarán O’Rourke. Kate is also the author of the Emerging Writer Blog, where she provides, for free, and daily, the most comprehensive and consistent updates on writing opportunities, competitions, magazines, publications, you name it...anything you need to know, that's the place to go.

'They are dinky little books you can slip into your back pocket or handbag. 10cm high and 32 pages long.'

Beautifully put together. And a bargain at 4 Euro each inc P&P. You can order them online here.
Who wouldn't love one? Or four?

The Moth Magazine

I received a lovely email this morning from The Moth Magazine accepting my poem "Mister Grey Hair, Yellow Teeth, Finish Me" for their March edition. It's a beautifully produced magazine so I'm thrilled!