Listowel Writers’ Week officially threw open the doors to its 48^th Festival on Wednesday night the 30^thMay 2018.

A host of Irish and international poets, playwrights, novelists, short story writers, artists and musicians flocked into Listowel yesterday evening for the 48^th Opening and Awards Ceremony of Listowel Writers’ Week.

Award winning US Poet Billy Collins officially opened the Festival. Music on the evening was provided by award winning A Capella group Ardú.  There were recitations from poet Clodagh Beresford Dunn who won the Bord Gais Irish Book Awards Poem of the Year 2017.

Festival President Colm Tóibín was present at the Opening Ceremony and he will be hosting A Cuppa with Colm on Thursday morning.

Festival Chairperson Liz Dunn welcomed everyone to the Opening Ceremony and stated that “This year’s festival programme is outstanding and covers such a wide variety of literature and responses to literature, that there really is something for everyone.  It certainly justifies our “Best Irish Festival 2018 Award”.

The John B. Keane Lifetime Achievement Award, in association with Mercier Press, was presented to poet Edna O’Brien in recognition of her outstanding contribution to literature internationally.

The biggest buzz of the night was kept for the announcement of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award.

Irish novelist Paul Lynch with his novel Grace, walked away with the €15,000 prize.

The prize was presented to Paul Lynch by Frank Hayes of Kerry Group, who said ‘As one of the notable highlights of the annual Irish literary awards, the Kerry Group Award for Irish fiction has once again brought the country’s finest writers to the fore. This year’s shortlist includes five fantastic novels that sit comfortably alongside the previous winners of this prestigious prize. Congratulations to each of the shortlisted authors and most especially to our Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year winner, Paul Lynch, for his wonderful work Grace.’ He also thanked this year’s adjudicators Jane Urquhart and Alex Preston for their hard work and dedication to the adjudication.

The Pigott Poetry Prize

The Pigott Poetry Prize was awarded to Colette Bryce who won €8,000 for her collection Selected Poems 2000-2014. This prize is for a published collection of poetry by an Irish poet generously sponsored by Mark Pigott, KBE, Chairman and Chief Executive of PACCAR Inc. Mark’s family originated from Listowel and emigrated to the United States in the late 1890s. Mark flew in from New York earlier today  and he too thanks this year’s adjudicators Billy Collins and Deryn Rees Jones for their work in choosing this year’s winner.

The Festival continues until Sunday 3^rd June and will feature a host of international and national writers and guests in Listowel for five days of books, banter and bestsellers!

Guests will include Margaret Drabble, Adrian Dunbar, Anthony Horowitz, Alex Preston, Jimmy Page, Scarlett Sabet, Michael Longley, Colette Bryce, Billy Collins, Pauline Bewick, Carlo Gebler, Eimear McBride to name a very small selection.

The festival will also feature 12 Creative Writing Workshops ranging from Novel, Poetry, Songwriting and Short Fiction. Running alongside the main festival Listowel Writers’ Week also hosts The National Children’s Festival over 4 days and will feature Joe Coelho, Sarah Webb, Robin Stevens, Helena Duggan and a host of family themed events.

So… something for everybody during the Bank Holiday weekend in The Kingdom of Words! www.writersweek.ie

I am always on the search for a good love story. Not particularly loyal to one genre, I read thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction, anything as long as the love story pulls me in. It can be tragic or uplifting. The attraction of opposites, happy endings or unrequited. What is most important is the love story feels real, because in this way the characters walk off the page and into my heart.

So why are love stories as important now as they ever were?

The obvious answer is escapism. Especially in a world of so much conflict and war. In a novel, love can be depicted that is otherwise lacking from day-to-day life. But the love story is not a vehicle through which to hide from the life. It has greater relevance by pushing the reader into questioning how they interact in the world. Every love story demands courage from the main protagonists. The reader aspires to be as brave. To listen to their hearts and take risks and to push boundaries for love.  A good love story is far from light -weight.

In my novels, I pose a question for the reader:

What if you can find unconditional love beyond the page?

This is why I hunt for love within my family dramas of secrets and lies. Love in all is guises between a parent and child, friends or lovers.

The love story transcends every era never losing its impact from Anthony and Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet to Wuthering Heights, Gone With The Wind and Dr. Zhivago. Contemporary romance is often less sweeping, but no less moving and more akin to Jane Austen classics. Authors like Monica McInerney, Dave Nicholls and Sinead Moriarty balance perfectly humour, poignancy and family intrigue within contemporary love stories.

In my new novel, The Gravity of Love, my purpose was to write a love story rooted in real life while considering the science of love. Is there a law of nature to love? A force?

Tired of the myth of The One, I wanted to share a story with a different underlying concept:

There are many The Ones.

After all, we all know it is rare for a marriage to last forever. Though most romantic relationships are finite, why do we feel such failures when they end? By attachment to the idea you already found The One, how do you recover when it turns out you were not their One? Or you never find anyone up to the job of being your The One?  Worst of all, you cannot appreciate your current relationship, because you let The One go? Looking back with regret into the past, while never fully in the present. I wanted to de-bunk all The One mythology. Present a way of finding love within the pages of a romance more grounded in reality, yet as heart-wrenching as any of the great love classics.

The concept behind The Gravity of Love is the idea of love having its own force of nature. There is no coincidence in a series of random meetings (the particles of life) as a process similar to the law of physics is followed through: magnetism, attraction, connection, resistance, and synthesis.

There is another side to the science of love: chemistry. When I write love stories, the sexual intimacy between two characters is a very important element in the book. It is not with the intention of arousal as in erotica, but with the purpose of enveloping the reader in a sense of the physical manifestation of a true love. It is hard to write a sex scene. It is necessary to be a little bold but through the authentic rendering of love-making a reader is able to identify more closely to the love story. We all know it, deep down. Our desires are rooted in sensual chemistry. How the scent and touch of one may spark us into action, and another not. It is essential for the longevity of a relationship for the chemistry to continue to react. The scientific explanation for what exactly love is has been studied by scientists for decades, who have broken down its physical symptoms – racing heart, sweaty palms – to reactions in the brain caused by the release of different hormones. Love is the combination of scientific fact, imbued with the longings of our deepest wishes as human beings.

So how do you write a real love story?

A love story of our times weaves many different elements within it. Lightness through the serendipity of its budding, romance through the gravitational pull between two characters, and real conflict over family loyalty. Darkness through the fear of change,  betrayal, and the secrets buried in every family stifling free will. A love story should always expand the reader’s experience. Whether the ending is tragic, happy or unresolved, the reader is activated by hope. This surely is the ultimate message for the human condition just as William Blake wrote:

‘And we are put on earth a little space

That we may learn to bear the beams of love.’

(c) Noelle Harrison

Noelle Harrison is the Irish author of Beatrice, A Small Part of Me, I Remember, The Adulteress & The Secret Loves of Julia Caesar. Her Valentina trilogy was published under the pen name Evie Blake. She has been translated into over 13 different languages, as well as featuring on Der Speigel’s Bestseller List. Noelle was one of 56 Irish writers included in the National Gallery of Ireland anthology and exhibition Lines of Vision, Irish Writers on Art. Now living in Edinburgh, Noelle divides her time between writing fiction, and on art and travel, as well as pursuing a Masters in Creative Writing at Edinburgh Napier University.

Author photograph (c) Chloe Martina Salvi

About The Gravity of Love:

Competition deadline: 30th June 2018

Claret Press is thrilled to announce the first MNDA short story competition! Net proceeds will go to support the Motor Neurone Disease Association (click here for more information). 

The competition is inspired by the work of Claret Press author Sarah Gray, who has Motor Neurone disease. Her short story collection Half Life deals with aspects of physical and mental illness in innovative and original ways. The Judges will be looking for similarly engaging and novel stories of no more than 5,000 words inspired by these issues. Stories can be written from any perspective and in any format. This can include murder mystery, thriller, romance, post-modern, horror, etc.

Entry forms can be submitted by clicking on the button below. On the subject line state: 2018 MNDA Short Story Competition.

Submissions will be accepted from March 5, 2018 to June 30, 2018. Entry fees: £6 per story submitted, payable via credit card, cheque, or bank transfer.

Terms and Conditions

This competition is being organised by Claret Press LLP, 51 Iveley Road, London SW4 0EN. Proceeds will go to support the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).

Prizes

The winning entry will receive £250.

The second place entry will receive £150.

The third place entry will receive £50.

All finalists will be published in an anthology in 2019.

Published authors will be able to buy copies at a 35% discount of RRP.

The three winners and the other finalists will be announced in autumn 2018.

General

Each entrant should include their name and contact details on their submission.

All stories should be original and previously unpublished, inspired by Sarah Gray’s Half Life and deal with physical and/or mental disabilities.

Entries should be around 5,000 words. There is no minimum word count and the title is not included in the word count.

Stories can be written from any perspective and in any format (this can include murder mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).

Each entry must be submitted via the entry form.

Entries are accepted from March 15, 2018.

The closing date is June 30, 2018.

The email addresses of entrants will only be used for the purpose of contacting the winner and administering the competition. It is the participant’s responsibility to keep Claret Press updated about any email address changes. The email addresses will not be sold on to a third party.

The winners and other finalists will agree to any reasonable request by CP/MNDA to fulfil press and marketing obligations relating to the competition and their own entry, including attending and reading at events connected with the Prize.

Eligibility

The prize is open to any nationality and all ages. A parent or guardian of any participant who is a minor must sign a release on behalf of the minor to be eligible to receive a prize.

Entries must be submitted in English.

The submission must be previously unpublished on any website, blog or online forum. This includes pieces of writing that have already been self-published or have secured a publishing deal but have not yet been published.

Writers may submit up to two entries.

Employees or Trustees of the MNDA or their close family members, employees of Claret Press or any members of family, and judges or their close family members are not permitted to enter.

Fees

£6 for each submitted short story.

Payment is via credit card, cheque, or bank transfer.

Entry Format

Entries must be saved in Microsoft Word format, and submitted via email. Please send your original, unpublished short story to contact@claretpress.com. The subject line should read ‘2018 MNDA Short Story Competition’.

Short stories need to be double-spaced and the word-count should be noted at top of the first page.

Once a story has been submitted, we do not accept amendments or revised versions so please consider carefully before submitting your story.

​Intellectual Property Rights

By submitting your entry, you agree and warrant that (i) your entry is your own original work; (ii) nothing in your entry is defamatory, private or an infringement of copyright or other intellectual property right or in any way a breach of another’s right; (iii) your entry does not contain any material owned by a third party. Any entry in breach of this clause will be disqualified from participating in the competition and from winning any prize.

The published authors grant to Claret Press an exclusive license of the rights to produce, distribute, publish and sell the work or any adaptation, abridgement, or part of the work globally in volume form, in electronic or digital form, and in all other present and future forms.

Due to the charitable nature of this publication, no royalties will be paid to the published authors.

Judges

Along with author Sarah Gray, there are two other judges for the 2018 MNDA Short Story Competition: Dr Katie Isbester and Dr James Scott.

The judges are unable to comment on individual entries.

The judges’ decision is final and no individual correspondence can be entered into.

​

We won’t share your contact information with third parties, nor will we keep your bank information if you share this with us. We keep a copy of the confirmation email to make sure everyone is fully informed. We might send you follow-up emails about Claret Press in the future unless you inform us otherwise.

Claret Press reserves the right to amend these rules if deemed necessary. Any changes will be posted on this website.

SUBMISSION OF ENTRY IMPLIES ACCEPTANCE OF ALL THESE RULES.

Sales are picking up this week after a bit of a dip last week – we’re perhaps getting more used to the sunny weather and starting to think holiday reading!

My Brother Jason:The Untold Story of Jason Corbett’s Life and Brutal Death has shot straight into the top of the chart, followed by Sheila O’Flanagan with her latest bestseller. The Hideaway, pushing  Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine into the number three slot. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine has sold in excess of 23,000 books in the Irish market alone, with Gail Honeyman’s debut from Harper Collins selling a staggering 384,000 copies in the UK – wonderful news for a debut.

Other good news is that the Irish Consumer Book Market is up 8.7% on last year at €36.9m. Fiction has maintained the highest percent increase, now up 11.8% in value to €10.1m with volume up 10.0% to 955, 100 units. Non-Fiction is also up 10.0% with Children’s up 2.4% on last year.

We’re thrilled that Writing.ie founder Sam Blake’s third Cat Connolly thriller, No Turning Back has made it into the top 10 Original Fiction, following hot in the footsteps of her Number 1 bestseller Little Bones (2016) and last year’s bestseller  In Deep Water. No Turning Back “is a well-plotted, compelling and tense addition to the series with an explosive and action-packed conclusion.” (Novel Deelights) Here’s the blrub:

Even perfect families have secrets . . .

Orla and Conor Quinn are the perfect power couple: smart, successful and glamorous. But then the unthinkable happens. Their only son, Tom, is the victim of a deliberate hit-and-run.

Detective Garda Cathy Connolly has just left Tom’s parents when she is called to the discovery of another body, this time in Dillon’s Park, not far from where Tom Quinn was found. What led shy student Lauren O’Reilly to apparently take her own life? She was a friend of Tom’s and they both died on the same night – are their deaths connected and if so, how?

As Cathy delves deeper, she uncovers links to the Dark Web and a catalogue of cold cases, realising that those involved each have their own reasons for hiding things from the police. But events are about to get a lot more frightening . . .

And here’s the top twenty overall bestselling titles:

And the top ten in each category look like this…

Positive thinking is a flimsy strategy. “You can do anything if you try” is a lie, a myth we must bust if we are genuinely to control our lives. Focusing on positives can lead us to ignore routes to improvement. “Practice makes perfect” is a false hope for most of us in most situations. Besides, perfectionism is itself a motorway to dissatisfaction.

So, why have I written Positively Teenage and, in an apparently separate but actually connected pair of questions, what has it to do with adults and with writers?

To answer the first question: too many people treat adolescence as a mental illness, or a stage of life that will necessarily be difficult and unpleasant. In fact, the way to thrive is first properly to understand adolescence and why it’s as it is and second to perform certain sensible actions to provide the best chance of well-being, so that hurdles, should they appear, can be leapt over or avoided.

What this has to do with adults is that well-being strategies are not age-specific. Good advice for young people is the same as good advice for any people.

What this has to do with writers is two-fold.

First, the way to succeed in becoming published is first properly to understand writing and publishing and how readers and publishers make decisions and why it is as it is and second to perform certain sensible actions to provide the best chance of publication, so that hurdles, should they appear, can be leapt over or avoided.

Second, an enormous threat to mental health is posed by the difficult goal of publication (and remaining published) accompanied as it usually is by rejections and undermining failures.

I’m not being abstract when I say this. I’ve been open about the fact that my mental and physical health weren’t (warning: understatement follows) too good when I was younger. I wrote about how that linked with my failure to be published at the end of my 2010 book, Write to be Published. I’m also clear that my successful battle against this history of illness and under-performance is why I now write about well-being, explicitly for young people but implicitly for everyone. It’s why Positively Teenage and my other titles exist. I learnt the hard way what happens when we make mistakes in self-care.

Let me share with you some mistakes that are relevant to a writer’s mental health. They’re all covered in different forms in Positively Teenage.

Allowing a specific failure to over-colour your self-esteem. Failure is a step to success if you ask yourself the all-important question: what went wrong? Perhaps it was something you did or perhaps it was outside your control. Taking steps to discover this – which is difficult but not impossible – is the key. We should be learning all the time.

Impatience. As I say, we should be learning all the time and that takes time. Someone who gets published more quickly (or gets a job more quickly) is not “better” than someone else. In fact, you may become better than them if you spend time getting it right.

Not taking breaks. Working hard is admirable and necessary. But our brains don’t work well if we don’t take breaks. Short and long breaks are necessary for humans and they are necessary for writing.

Keeping on trying. This is a bad idea if you’re keeping on making mistakes. After a few rejections, you need to find out what might be wrong. One rejection is “just an opinion” but several all picking the same fault are worth listening to.

Extrapolating the general from the specific. “I’ve been rejected by X’ becomes “I’m a rejected author”. “She doesn’t like me” becomes “I’m unpopular and worthless.”

Opening yourself to online angst. This didn’t exist when I was struggling to be published but I’ve thought about it a lot since, not least because I have another book out this year apart from Positively Teenage: The Teenage Guide to Life Online. In it, I include the tremendous online opportunities for writing, learning skills, sharing words and being published. But I also talk about the downside, again relevant to writers: opportunities for envy, the dismay we can feel at the news of yet another debut. “Why them? When will it be me? Will it ever be me?” I can’t answer that but never forget this: what you see online is gloss. Every single gleeful author has a bank of failure, struggle, rejection, doubt. Same for teenagers: constant competition with everyone’s online perfection.

“Eggs-in-one-basket” goal-setting. When you miss the big target, it feels like the end of the world. So, you need step-targets. Your ultimate target might be “Get a novel published by a good press” but find smaller step-targets, such as “Get an article published”, or “Finish my novel and send it to three publishers/agents”. Value each and make sure you have several under way at once.

Ignoring your heartsong. My previous blog was called Heartsong because, back in those dark days of mental and physical symptoms, a wise counsellor told me, “You have to find your heartsong.” He meant that you have to know what makes your heart sing and you have to provide it. Come what may, you must provide it.

Most people have many things that give them heartsong and the tunes change over time. It could be physical exercise, cooking for friends, reading, gardening, performing, writing and being heard. For me it is all those, which is why I mention them, but the main one was writing and being heard.

Being positive that you’re going to get published one day is not the way. In fact, the fear that you might not is a pretty good motivator! Similarly, Positively Teenage is not encouraging some kind of vacuous “You can do it if you really want to” mentality. It’s about arming oneself with knowledge of how things work (whether well-being or books); having practical strategies for living (or writing) well; being optimistic and brave, honest and self-reflective; being able to roll with the knocks and get back up to try again – but try better, asking for help if necessary. It’s about not letting other people drag you down but listening to helpful voices. Being positive, yes, but proactive, informed, realistic and determined – determined not only to succeed but to relish the journey. It’s about, as I say in Positively Teenage, controlling the things you can, ignoring the things you can’t, and learning to tell the difference.

(c) Nicola Morgan

Nicola Morgan, previously known as the Crabbit Old Bat for her über-honest publishing advice, is a multi-award-winning author and international expert on teenage brains and mental health, how stress impacts wellbeing and performance, effects of screens and social media and the science of reading for pleasure. A former teacher and dyslexia specialist, Nicola was an acclaimed teenage novelist whose career is now devoted to her best-selling non-fiction books for teenagers. After the success of Blame My Brain, The Teenage Guides to Stress and to Friends, and her popular teaching materials, Brain Sticks and Stress Well for Schools, Nicola’s new books for 2018, Positively Teenage and The Teenage Guide to Life Online, build on her position as the go-to expert in her field.

For information and resources, or to contact Nicola about visiting your school for INSET or parent or student talks, see www.nicolamorgan.com

About Positively Teenage:

Positively Teenage gives you tools to approach your teenage years with optimism and understanding and to develop real wellbeing for life.

The media so often portray adolescence negatively but this book shows you how to approach these years far more positively so that you can really flourish and be in control. You’ll find simple strategies to develop a positive attitude, growth mindset, self-understanding, determination and resilience and you’ll see how those strengths will help you cope with any challenges, enjoy life and achieve your potential.

Full of practical, proven strategies for physical and mental health, Positively Teenage will show you lots of ways to flourish physically and mentally – from doing things you enjoy to learning new skills; looking after your diet, exercise and attitude to being healthy online; getting great sleep to understanding your personality – allowing you to take control of many areas of your life. With these new strengths and skills, you can survive any storms and thrive on the challenges of your exciting life.

Scattered throughout are POSITIVE BOOSTS: quick ideas for actions you can take to build positivity and well-being. Add them into your life and use your imagination and your new understanding to invent others.

Positively Teenage gives you the power to let yourself flourish, achieve and be who you want to be. Use your powers well! Be truly, positively, teenage! Stand tall, stretch your arms wide, take a deep breath and say, loudly (or in your head), ‘I can do this!’

Order your copy online here.

Mia Gallagher has got in touch to say that as part of the wonderful Mountains to Sea Festival she will be in conversation with “award-winning poets Sinead Morrissey and Michael Symmons Roberts in an opening night event on Wednesday 21st March. The event takes place at 7.30 pm in the Studio, DLR Lexicon.

Mia says, “Both Sinead and Michael are Forward Prize winners and both are known for an inventive, endlessly curious fascination with the cities they hail from – Belfast and Manchester.

Submissions Deadline: May 1st 2018

Jack Collum is the founder and editor of Insightful a new, young and fresh international poetry journal:

I am passionate for poetry, with my first collection Perspective being released in the coming weeks. When I started off my writing it was extremely difficult to get published in journals, magazines, newspapers, etc a problem which all talented budding poets will face.

I set up ‘Insightful’ to give new emerging poets the chance to get their work published, get their work recognized but most importantly help build a name for themselves as a writer in writing circles within writing communities.

I hope for the first volume of ‘Insightful’ to be fully completed by the start of May and for it soon to be able for purchase from Amazon in print form.

I am looking for the non exclusive rights to your work for it to be included in the first volume of Insightful. What this means( as most of you will know) is that I have the right to publish your work with your permission but following publication all rights revert back to you the owner. Also, with the writer’s consent of course I would like to feature a handful of poems on the Insightful Poetry website after publication.

Seeing as ‘Insightful’ is a new and emerging poetry journal, yet to publish a volume, there is no form of pay we are able to give at this current moment in time. But with your help and poetic genius I hope we are able to grow this project and one day be able to reward or contributors with money or a free copy.

I am looking for submissions from not only Ireland but worldwide. There is no specific genre I request writers to submit. The journal requires work of merit. Work that leaves the reader thinking, questioning and wondering and most importantly work of which you are proud of.

Submissions are open from now until May 1st 2018.

You may submit as many as 6 poems and I ask for you to submit work which you have the rights to and which hasn’t been published elsewhere.

Please submit work to insightfulpoetry0@gmail.com

Also here is a link to our website.

Stanford Libraries have announced the shortlist for the eighth William Saroyan International Prize for Writing (Saroyan Prize).

The awards are intended to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan literary legacy of originality, vitality and stylistic innovation. The Saroyan Prize recognizes newly published works of both fiction and non-fiction. A prize of $5,000 will be awarded in each category. Winners and finalists will be announced this summer.

Stanford Libraries holds the Saroyan Prize every other year. The 2016 winners were T. Geronimo Johnson (Welcome to Braggsville, William Morrow, 2015) for fiction and Lori Jakiela (Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe, Atticus Books, 2015) for the non-fiction category.

The shortlists are as follows:

Fiction

The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead (Ecco)
by Chanelle Benz

Are You Here For What I’m Here For? (Bellevue Literary Press)
by Brian Booker

The Traders (Black Lawrence Press)
by Scott Shibuya Brown

The Hearts of Men (Ecco)
by Nickolas Butler

In the Distance (Coffee House Press)
by Hernan Diaz

Native Believer (Akashic Books)
by Ali Eteraz

The Earth Cries Out (Penguin Random House NZ)
by Bonnie Etherington

Go Home (Knut House Press)
by Sohrab Homi Fracis

The Loss of All Lost Things (Elixir Press)
by Amina Gautier

Fen (Graywolf Press)
by Daisy Johnson

Grace (Little, Brown and Company)
by Paul Lynch

The Truth About Me (WTAW Press)
by Louise Marburg

Desert Boys (Picador)
by Chris McCormick

Lucky Boy (G.P Putnam’s Sons)
by Shanthi Sekaran

No One Is Coming to Save Us (Ecco)
by Stephanie Powell Watts

Non-Fiction

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste (Penguin Books)
by Bianca Bosker

No Relation (Black Lawrence Press)
by Paula Carter

Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve (HarperCollins Publishers)
by Lenora Chu

Juliet’s Answer, A Memoir (Simon & Schuster Canada)
by Glenn Dixon

What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen (Little, Brown and Company)
by Kate Fagan

The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone (Picador)
by Olivia Laing

The Vegetarian’s Guide to Eating Meat: A Young Woman’s Search for Ethical Food (Greystone Books)
by Marissa Landrigan

Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years (Ecco)
by David Litt

On Trails (Simon & Schuster)
by Robert Moor

Riverine: A Memoir from Anywhere but Here (Graywolf Press)
by Angela Palm

City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp (Picador)
by Ben Rawlence

Threading My Prayer Rug: One Woman’s Journey from Pakistani Muslim to American Muslim (Arcade Publishing)
by Sabeeha Rehman

The People Elsewhere: Unbound Journeys with the Storytellers of Myanmar (Viking)
by Lucas Stewart

Shakespeare in Swahililand: In Search of a Global Poet (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
by Edward Wilson-Lee

Rise of the Necrofauna: The Science, Ethics, and Risks of De-Extinction (Greystone Books)
by Britt Wray

Competition deadline: 15th May 2018

Writers of short fiction may now enter the 2018 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. The competition has a thirty-seven year history of literary excellence, and Lorian Hemingway and her small judging panel are dedicated to enthusiastically supporting the efforts and talent of writers of short fiction whose voices have yet to be heard.  Lorian Hemingway, a granddaughter of Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway, is the author of three critically acclaimed books:  Walking into the River,  Walk on Water, and  A World Turned Over.

Ms. Hemingway is the competition’s final judge.

Prizes and Publication:

The first-place winner will receive $1,500 and publication of his or her winning story in  Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts. The second – and third-place winners will receive $500 each. Honorable mentions will also be awarded to entrants whose work demonstrates promise.  Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts was founded by editor-in-chief Pamela Uschuk, winner of the 2010 American Book Award for her book  Crazy Love: New Poems, and by poet William Pitt Root, Guggenheim Fellow and NEA recipient. The journal contains some of the finest contemporary fiction and poetry in print, and the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition is both proud and grateful to be associated with such a reputable publication.

Terms and Conditions

• What to submit: Stories must be original unpublished fiction, typed and double-spaced, and may not exceed 3,500 words in length. There are no theme or genre restrictions. Copyright remains the property of the author.
• Who may submit: The literary competition is open to all U.S. and international writers whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed publication with a circulation of 5,000 or more. Writers who have been published by an online magazine or who have self-published will be considered on an individual basis.
• Submission requirements: Submissions may be sent via regular mail or submitted online. Please visit our  online submissions page for complete instructions regarding online submissions. Writers may submit multiple entries, but each must be accompanied by a separate entry fee and separate cover sheet. We do accept simultaneous submissions; however, the writer must notify us if a story is accepted for publication or wins an award prior to our July announcements. No entry confirmation will be given unless requested. No SASE is required.The author’s name should not appear on the story. Our entrants are judged anonymously. Each story must be accompanied by a cover sheet with the writer’s name, complete mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, the title of the piece, and the word count. Manuscripts will not be returned. These requirements apply for online submissions as well.
• Deadlines and Entry Fees: The entry fee is $15 for each story postmarked by May 1, 2018. The late entry fee is $20 for each story postmarked by May 15, 2018. We encourage you to enter by May 1 if at all possible, but please know that your story will still be accepted if you meet the later deadline. Entries postmarked after May 15, 2018 will not be accepted. Entries submitted online after May 15, 2018 will not be accepted. Writers may submit for the 2019 competition beginning May 16, 2018.
• How to pay your entry fee: Entry fees submitted by mail with their accompanying stories may be paid — in U.S. funds — via a personal check, cashier’s check, or money order. Please make checks payable to LHSSC or The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. Entry fees for online submissions may be paid with PayPal.

Announcement of Winners and Honorable Mentions

Winners of our 2018 competition will be posted in July 2018 on our website, and also on our Facebook page. Only the first-place entrant will be notified personally.

All manuscripts and their accompanying entry fees should be sent to The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, P.O. Box 2011 Key West, FL 33045 c/o Cynthia D. Higgs: Key West Editorial Assistant or  submitted online. For more information, please explore our website or e-mail:  shortstorykeywest@hushmail.com.

Competition deadline: 1st June 2018

The Daily Mail and Penguin Random House have launched the third year of their nationwide competition to search for a new writing talent.

The winner will receive a £20,000 advance and publishing contract with PRH imprint Century and the services of literary agent Luigi Bonomi.

Entrants are invited to submit the first 5,000 words of their novel, along with a 600-word synopsis. Submissions can be of any adult genre except for saga, science fiction and fantasy. Entrants must not have had a novel published before.

The competition will be judged by a panel of experts: author and TV presenter Fern Britton; Bonomi, managing director of LBA Literary Agents; crime writer Simon Kernick; the Daily Mail’s literary editor Sandra Parsons; and Selina Walker, publisher for Century & Arrow.

Walker said she would this year be looking for “authors who can tell stories that pull you into a world that feels more real than the one around you, who can create characters you care about, who can shape a narrative you absolutely can’t put down”. She added: “It’s hard to find a writer who can do all three – but when you do, it jumps out and bites you on the nose.”

Bonomi added meanwhile: “I want ‘Up Lit’: well written, feel-good fiction that teaches us about the human condition. And I want to cry (real men do cry!) and smile, and be excited by what I read, and thrilled by it. Is this a big ask? Not really – because I know such a novel is out there, waiting to be discovered, and it could be yours.”

The competition’s inaugural winner in 2016 was Amy Lloyd from Cardiff, after her novel The Innocent Wife was chosen from 5,000 entries. The book has sold 5,932 copies in hardback so far, according to Nielsen, while translation rights have sold into 18 territories including the US, France, and Israel. Film rights have also been sold to eOne, the producers of “Gone Girl” and “The Girl on the Train”. The paperback will be published on 23rd August and her second novel is due out next year.

The second winnner was Lizzy Barber for My Name is Alice, the story of a young woman’s quest to uncover the truth of her identity and unlock the mysteries that have defined her life.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

1. By entering this competition, entrants agree to accept and be bound by these terms and conditions.

2. This competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a resident of the UK or Republic of Ireland, except for the employees (and their families) of the Penguin Random House Group (Publisher), Associated Newspapers Limited, and any other company connected with the competition.

3. The closing date for the competition is 17:30 GMT on FRIDAY 13 JULY 2018.

4. To enter, entrants must submit an entry consisting of the opening of their first novel of up to a maximum of 3,000 words in the English language and a synopsis of the work in the English language of no more than 600 words. All entries to be typed and printed on A4 paper with double spacing in font size 12 point, Times New Roman.

5. Entries are to be posted to Daily Mail First Novel Competition, c/o Penguin Random House Group, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA. Entries should NOT be submitted to The Daily Mail offices, and will not be accepted if hand-delivered.

6. All entries must include the entrant’s full name and contact details (including their home and email address) and confirmation they have agreed to the full terms and conditions.

7. Entrants may submit more than one entry to the competition, but each entry must be original material, and must not have been submitted in the previous years’ competition.

8. All entries must be original, previously unpublished works of fiction, open to all adult genres, except for saga, fantasy and science fiction.

9. Entrants must not have previously written a novel published under a valid ISBN. This includes novels that have been self-published or are only available as eBooks.

10. Entrants must not be currently represented by or working with a literary agent.

11. Entries that are received after the closing date will not be considered. Neither the Promoter nor the Publisher are responsible for illegible, incomplete, delayed or lost entries. Proof of postage is not proof of receipt. Emailed entries will not be accepted.

12. The Promoter and the Publisher regret that entries cannot be returned, nor will the Promoter, Publisher, Agent (as referred to in clause 19 below) or the competition judges enter into correspondence or give feedback on individual entries. Entrants are advised to send a copy and retain the original work and synopsis. 13. All valid entries will be forwarded to a judging panel. The judges will choose one winner, one highly commended entry and 3 runners-up who shall be notified by post by 21 SEPTEMBER 2018. The winner shall be that entry which, in the sole opinion of the judges, is the best.

14. The decision of the judges is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

15. All unsuccessful entries will be disposed of.

16. There will be two prizes. The winner’s prize is an advance as set out below and an offer of publication by the Publisher in respect of the novel to which their entry relates. The winning entry will also be represented by literary agent, Luigi Bonomi, of LBA books Ltd. There will also be a Highly Commended prize, the recipient of which may be offered representation by the literary agency, LBA. The Highly Commended entry and the runners-up shall each receive five (5) books of their choice which are published in the UK by the Publisher.

17. Notwithstanding anything else set forth in these terms and conditions if, in the sole opinion of the Publisher, none of the entries (including that of the winner) are of a sufficiently high standard to merit the winner’s prize, such prize shall not be awarded but shall instead be substituted with ten (10) books of the winner’s choice which are published in the UK by the Publisher.

18. All entrants must be in a position to deliver their complete manuscript no later than MARCH 2019 should they win.

19. Publication is subject to the winner entering into a contract with Century, an imprint of the Publisher. This will afford an exclusive licence to the Publisher, permitting the editing, adapting, publishing and licencing of all or part of the novel in all editions, formats (including print and electronic), in all languages and territories globally and setting out all applicable financial details including a net advance of £20,000 (the gross figure, before the deduction of the agency commission contemplated below, being £23,000) on completion and acceptance (by Publisher) of the complete manuscript and providing the Publisher with an option over a second book. Should entrants not want to grant these rights they should not submit materials. In the event an agreement cannot be reached, as regards the contract, within 30 days of the discussions commencing, the winner shall instead be awarded the substitute prize.

20. Publication is also subject to the winner entering into a contract with the literary agent, LBA Books (Agent) who will negotiate the winner’s contract with the Publisher on the winner’s behalf. This contract will include standard agency commission of 15% to be applied to all royalties and earnings through this publishing contract. In the event an agreement cannot be reached, as regards this contract, within 30 days of these discussions commencing, the winner shall instead be awarded the substitute prize.

21. The prize is otherwise non-transferable and no cash alternative or other substitute is available.

22. Notwithstanding anything set forth above, the Publisher reserves the right to choose the most appropriate format for the novel on publication. The Publisher will seek to publish the winning work within twelve months of acceptance of the manuscript.

23. By entering this competition each entrant confirms that: (i) his/her entry is their wholly-owned creation and makes no use of any third party materials or intellectual property rights; (ii) no deliberate attempt has been made to base any fictional characters in the novel upon any individual, living or dead; and (iii) the submitted materials contain nothing that is illegal, obscene or of a defamatory nature. Entrants will keep the Promoter and the Publisher harmless from any claims that the entry infringes the personal or proprietary right of any other person.

24. Events may occur that render the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Promoter or the Publisher, and the Publisher may, at its absolute discretion, vary, amend, suspend or withdraw the prize with or without notice. No correspondence will be entered into.

25. The winning and the Highly Commended entrants agrees to the Promoter’s and Publisher’s use of their name, country of residence and photograph in relation to related publicity material and activities.

26. The Promoter or the Publisher may disqualify any entrant whose entry does not comply with these terms or whose actions, in the Promoter’s or the Publisher’s determination, are fraudulent, dishonest, criminal or unjust to other entrants.

27. The Publisher will use the personal details of entrants only for the purposes of administering the competition. Entrants consent to the use of their personal data for this purpose. Personal details will not be kept on file by the Promoter.

28. These terms are governed by the laws of England.

29. Promoter: Associated Newspapers Ltd of Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT. The Promotion is jointly administered by Promoter and The Random House Group Limited (“Publisher”) of 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA. The Publisher is responsible for all elements of the prize. Any prize queries should be addressed to the Publisher at the address above.

Read more here.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/prmts/article-5656753/The-Daily-Mail-Penguin-Random-House-novel-competition.html#ixzz5FHsdVqB4

Author Brendan Lynch and Senator David Norris have unveiled a plaque at number 4 Duke Street, Dublin to commemorate artist and writer, John Ryan, who died in 1992. He was founder of Envoy literary magazine, and benefactor to Brendan Behan, Patrick Kavanagh and many impoverished writers of the 1950s. He launched the first Bloomsday celebration with Flann O’Brien in June, 1954.

Brendan Lynch remembered: ‘In the late-1950s, I lived in the heart of Dublin’s Bohemia in Upper Mount Street. Bohemia is said to have been bordered on the north by cold, on the west by hunger. It was an accurate description. The climate could not have been more inimical to creativity. Barefoot children shouted ‘Herald a’ Mail’ at street corners, Georgian homes sank into tenement dilapidation. The Censorship Board ensured that John Broderick, Austin Clarke and John McGahern followed Sean O’Casey into exile.

‘Yet a golden age thrived. Flann O’Brien, Ernie Gebler, James Plunkett, Behan and Kavanagh and poets John Montague, Thomas Kinsella, John Liddy and Paul Durcan.  Liam Miller’s Dolmen Press, Alan Simpson’s Pike Theatre, the unforgettable Parsons Bookshop.  Hard-working artists such as John Behan, Nevill Johnson and Pauline Bewick – who lived in a Kilmainham caravan.

‘And at the heart of this flowering was John Ryan, whose largesse and encouragement  nourished so many of them.  And whose Envoy campaigning helped to finally end cennsorship. John was also very helpful to me when I was preparing my books on literary and Bohemian Dublin. We had many a chat, as I wheeled him around Donnybrook’s Royal Hospital before his untimely death at the age of 67.’

Among the large attendance were John Ryan’s widow, Dee and her family. Also, Frances Kiely, widow of novelist, Ben, and the family of the Pike Theatre’s Alan Simpson. And Philip Donleavy, son of Ginger Man author, J P Donleavy, whose first story John Ryan published in Envoy magazine.

Brendan Lynch expects to publish his own next book, Princess of the Orient, in August.

The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, presented the awards to the winners of the prestigious Write Here, Write Now competition, run by Hot Press Magazine in association with Creative Ireland.

The competition, which invites entries from students all over Ireland, is also supported by PayPal and Canon. There are separate strands in the competition for Second and Third Level.

This year’s theme was Social Media: A Writer’s Tale. Forty writers, evenly split between Second and Third Level were shortlisted and regional winners were announced before the four National Winners were unveiled.

“Hot Press has always been about supporting emerging Irish creativity – which is why a competition like Write Here, Write Now is so important to us”, said Hot Press editor Niall Stokes. “With the controversies that have erupted around social media and the use and abuse of data by the big internet and social media players, this year’s theme proved to be very timely. And I’m thrilled to be able to say that the quality of the entries was truly extraordinary.

“It is wonderful to see that so many young writers – some of them still in their mid-teens – are capable of delivering powerful, original material, in their own unique voices. Hopefully today’s prize giving will encourage these remarkable young men and women to reach for the stars, and to make the most of the superb talent that they have shown here.”

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan T.D. said: “My Department, through the Creative Ireland Programme, is delighted to support this competition which encourages creativity and allows new writers to have their voices heard. It’s really important that we support creativity in all its forms and I wish all of the entrants and the winners here today the very best for the future and urge them to keep writing and creating new work.”

Among the judges for the competition were the Booker Prize winning D.B.C. Pierre, acclaimed poet Rita Ann Higgins, the multi-award winning crime writer Tana French and Mike McCormack, who won the Goldsmith’ Prize in 2016 Prize for his hugely original novel Solar Bones, as well as Hot Press editor Niall Stokes and co-founder of the magazine, Máirín Sheehy.

“What a cool collection,” DBC Pierre said. “Underneath subject, style and language, the best writing doesn’t tell us how to feel, but takes our senses places where they can feel for themselves, touching universal truths, often mysteriously. So it’s been really heartening to read these upcoming writers, and a hell of a job to pick between them. Only one thing for sure: we’ll be reading many of them again in the future.”

Prizes

The four overall winners each win:

• A superb Canon PowerShot SX620 HS professional camera

• An internship with Hot Press, the country’s leading music and lifestyle magazine

• A €250 cash prize.

• They’ll also have their winning entry published in a special issue of Hot Press.

All shortlisted entries can now be read at hotpress.com/writeherewritenow

The full list of winners is as follows:

National Winners Third Level

Male: Jason Reddan from Limerick

A student at Mary Immaculate College, Jason Reddan is from Limerick city. Jason is working on his first feature film this summer and has recently completed a producing program at The New York Film Academy in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Female: Rose Keating from Waterford

Rose is studying English at UCC, on a creative writing scholarship, as part of the Quercus program. A previous 2nd Level winner of Write Here, Write Now, her fiction has been published in the Incubator journal, Not One of Us magazine, the Quarryman journal and the Breakroom Stories podcast.

National Winners Second Level

Female: Alva White from Kildare

A student at Leinster Senior College in Newbridge Co. Kildare. Alva is a sixteen year old fact aficionado. She is a fan of Shakespeare, Steinbeck and contemporary writers like Ali Shaw and Roddy Doyle.

Male: Robert Gibbons from Meath

Robert is a student at Kings Hospital, Co. Dublin currently undertaking his Leaving Certificate. He hopes to study English at third level. His hobbies include playing piano and reading.

The People’s Choice Award, presented by PayPal, went to Josh O’Loughlin from Clare, who is a student in D.I.T.

There was also a special award for Outstanding Achievement for Niamh Browne from Cork, a second-level entrant.

Provincial Winners – Third Level

Munster: Dean Buckley (NUI Galway graduate)

Connaught: Luke McDermott (NUI Galway)

Leinster: Aaron McGinnity (Trinity)

Donegal: Daniel McBrearty (NUI Galway)

Leinster: Aoife O’Ceallachain (Trinity)

Connaught: Mairéad Melia (NUI Galway)

Ulster: Grace O’Donnell (NUI Galway)

Munster: Amy Glover (Trinity)

Provincial Winners – Second Level

Leinster: Matthew Price (Terenure College in Dublin)

Munster: David Landers (Pobalscoil na Tríonóide in Cork)

Connaught: Luke Power (Sancta Maria College, Mayo)

Ulster: Patrick McCarron (St Macartans College in Monaghan)

Special Prize – Óran McCormack-Grant (13 Year-old) – also Ulster / Monaghan (Our Lady’s Secondary School)

Munster: Vicky Burke (3 entries – Nothing To Fear mentioned) (Saint Aidans Community College in Cork)

Connaught: Laura Quinn (Dominican College in Dublin)

Leinster: Eleanor Curran (St Vincent’s School in Dublin)

Highly Commended – Third Level

Mark Gilligan (Trinity)

Sandi Ndebele (UCD)

Josh O’Loughlin (DIT)

Daniel Ryan (DIT)

Jamie Sewell (BIMM Dublin)

Aoife Kearins (Trinity)

Alanna MacNamee (Trinity)

Fiona Monks (DCU)

Emer O’Hara (UCD)

Caitríona O’Malley (UCD graduate)

Anna Stockdale (Queen’s University Belfast)

Highly Commended – Second Level

Conor Ryan (Belvedere College in Dublin)

Dualtagh McDonnell (Ennis Community College in Co. Clare)

Kevin Matthews (Rathmines College in Dublin)

Fields Chung (The High School in Dublin)

Rachel O’Dwyer (Borrisokane Community College in Co. Tipperary)

Rosa Thomas (St Wolstan’s Community College in Celbridge)

Maolíosa Ní Léannacháin (Loreto College, Mullingar)

Niamh Lusson (St Louis Community School in Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo)

Katie Farrell (Maryfield College in Dublin)

The ‘Maeve Binchy and famous Irish Writers Walk’ has returned to Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre for the summer. The walk is perfect for fans of Maeve.

Taking place on Fridays at 13.15 from the 8th June until the end of September, the guided walk starts at the Writers’ Gallery at Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre. The walk is the perfect way to learn about Dalkey’s rich literary history. Visitors can discover how Maeve approached writing her novels and walk along the streets of Dalkey, enjoying snippets of work from Maeve, James Joyce, Flann O’Brien and more, while hearing anecdotes of famous writer encounters from the entertaining and knowledgeable guides at the different locations along the route.

Competition deadline: 31st July 2018

WOW! Women on Writing is back again with another contest!

Competition deadline: 13th August 2018

The Institute of Technology,  Tallaght [Dublin, Ireland] in association with the Red Line Book Festival and South Dublin County Council are pleased to announce the opening of the ITT Short Story Competition 2018 for entries.

The ITT Short Story Competition is run by the Institute of Technology Tallaght, in conjunction with South Dublin County Council, and in association with the Red Line Book Festival, and is free to enter. This year’s judge is Deirdre Sullivan, an award winning writer for young adults. Her most recent book, Tangleweed and Brine is a collection of Fairy-Tale retellings. She tweets and instagrams @propermiss.

Entries should be submitted via this online form only until 12.00 GMT (Irish Time), on 13th August 2018.

Entries must be in short story format (a short work of fiction) between 1,500 and 2,000 words long, and should be completely the entrant’s own work written in English (high standard), original, unpublished. There is no restriction on theme or style, however the planned 2018 anthology will be called Stand Fast! and we are looking for strong stories that (even loosely) reflect this title. Falsification of information and/or identity, plagiarism, racial discrimination and bigotry will see entries disqualified.
The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into. No criticism or advice will be provided.

Contest Prizes:

1. First Prize:        €500
2. Second Prize:  €250
3. Third Prize:      €150

It is the intention of the organisers that the winning and short listed entries maybe published in an anthology, or other format. Non-prize winning published entries will receive no remuneration. Previous year’s Anthologies are available on Amazon.

You must read the Rules, and Terms and Conditions and agree to these before you can submit your entry.
Queries before submission should only relate to the contest rules or if there are difficulties in submission. Queries should be sent via e-mail to ritt@ittdublin.ie.

International entries are welcome.

Further information and the submission form will be available online on 2^nd July at: http://bit.ly/ITTShorts18

Competition deadline: 28th August 2018

The John O’Connor Writing School and Literary Arts Festival, sponsored and supported by internationally renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Paul Muldoon, has a two-fold purpose. It aims to to celebrate and commemorate the life and works of John O’Connor as well as offering practical guidance and assistance to aspiring writers through its workshops and master classes in the various literary genres and writing for commercial purposes.

Entries are currently invited from aspiring writers for the third John O’Connor Short Story Competition. It is being held to commemorate the Armagh born writer whose impressive literary legacy includes a collection of short stories which still retain a timeless appeal.

The prize winner will be awarded a full bursary to attend the John O’ Connor Writing School and Literary Arts Festival which will be held in Armagh from 1st to 4th November, 2018, plus a cash prize of £250. The bursary prize allows the recipient to enjoy all events in the John O’Connor Writing School and Literary Festival 2018, and to attend one class in the writing genre of his/her choice. The winner will be notified by 2 October.

The winning entrant will be formally announced at the opening of the Writing school on Friday 2nd November, and will have the opportunity to read at an event on Sunday 4th November 2018. Single room accommodation will be available free of charge to the winning entrant.

Terms and Conditions

1. The competition is open to people of 16 years and older
2.  Only one entry per person is permitted and MUST be submitted via the online form.
3. Entries must be in English
4. Entries must be between 1,800 and 2,000 words in length. Entries outside this word count will not be permitted and will be automatically rejected.
5. Entries must be the original work of the author and must not have been previously published either in writing or electronically. Entries which have received awards in other competitions are also ineligible.
6. Only short stories will be accepted. Prose and poetry entries are inadmissible.
7. An entrance fee of £10 per story must be paid and submitted as indicated on the online form.
8. No indication of the author’s name should be given in the actual story.
9. Entries will not be returned.
10. The decision of the adjudicators is final and they will not enter into any correspondence concerning the competition.
11. Closing date for receipt of entries 12noon on the 28th of August.
12. The winner will be notificed by 2 October 2018

Find full terms and conditions, and online entry form available here.

A word from previous winners:

“I won the inaugural John O’Connor Short Story Competition in 2016, the news delivered to me via a lovely phone call from Cathy McCullough, a personal touch which is one of the things that makes the weekend so special. I had started writing in 2014, and the win gave me a sense of validation that is so nourishing and necessary for a new writer. That year I attended Bernie McGill’s brilliant prose workshops, which generated an idea for a novel, and Stewart Neville’s masterclass. Last year Martina Devlin facilitated the prose workshops, and again I went away full of ideas for new work. The win also gave me opportunities to read my own work in public, a prospect I once found appalling which I now actually enjoy. My stories have won other prizes, but the John O’Connor win is the one that keeps on giving. “

Louise Kennedy, 2016 winner

“Thanks to the JOCWS I have made contact with an agent who is willing to read it [her novel] when it is ready… I hope all goes as well this year as last and I will certainly be coming along to the writing workshops again. I found them really useful. “

Roisin Maguire, 2017 winner

Friday 13 July is the Ukrainian writer and filmmaker Oleg Sentsov’s 42^nd birthday. This will be the fourth birthday he spends behind bars, away from his children and family. Instead, he will be on day 61 of his hunger strike, calling for the release of imprisoned Ukrainians in Russia. Oleg’s cousin, Natalia Kaplan, visited him in prison earlier this month. He has reportedly lost 15 kg. Speaking to the press, she said “Yesterday he was very bad, today he’s feeling normal. He’s getting worse in the evenings. He is not going to halt his hunger strike. He said he would go all the way and believes in his victory.”

Sentsov’s birthday also happens to fall on the last week of the World Cup, during which many have joined the #KeepingScore campaign.

There are a number of PEN Centres who have been doing amazing campaigning work on his behalf; English PEN are gathering messages of solidarity and both PEN America and PEN Kenya are hosting screenings about his case.

To mark his birthday, PEN International is asking supporters to tweet messages to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. As we near the end of this unique opportunity to put pressure on the Russian authorities to release Sentsov, and with his health failing, it is crucial that we work together on this final push.

Below are suggested tweets:

• .@PutinRF_Eng, Oleg Sentsov should not be behind bars on his birthday.  He should be with his family. Release him immediately #FreeSentsov #KeepingScore
• Today marks Oleg Sentsov’s 42^nd birthday and day 61 of his hunger strike in a Siberian prison .@PutinRF_Eng release him now! #FreeSentsov #KeepingScore
• .@PutinRF_Eng, the world is watching. Oleg Sentsov grows weaker by the day on hunger strike.  Today is his birthday. He must be freed! #FreeSentsov #KeepingScore @FIFAWorldCup

We want to encourage as many of you as possible to share these on your social media accounts, and please ask as many of your high-profile supporters to do so as well. We know that your participation will hugely amplify the impact of PEN’s campaign for Oleg Sentsov’s freedom. I also attach a graphic created to mark his birthday to this email.

For more information please see:

• Russia: Oleg Sentsov on hunger strike: http://pen-international.org/news/russia-oleg-sentsov-on-hunger-strike
• PEN International publishes short stories by Oleg Sentsov: http://pen-international.org/news/pen-international-publishes-short-stories-by-oleg-sentsov
• Keeping Score at the 2018 World Cup: Reporting on the dark side of Russia: http://pen-international.org/news/keeping-score-at-the-2018-world-cup