The Inkwell Group

Hungry Hill Writing and Mill Cove Gallery are delighted to announce the 2012 Poets Meet Painters writing competition for poems inspired by works of art at Mill Cove Gallery and Sculpture Garden   Prize: €200 Closing date: 1 July 2012 Entry fee: €6 for up to three poems Judge: Cherry…

Doneraile Literary & Arts Festival 2012 Edmund Spenser Poetry Competition Conditions of Entry The competition is open to people aged 18 or over Poems must not be more than 30 lines. The poems may be on any subject Entries to be submitted with a fee of 10 Euros.  Cheques/postal orders…

Doneraile Literary & Arts Festival 2012 Canon Sheehan Short Story Competition Prize E1000 Conditions of Entry The competition is open to people aged 18 or over Stories must not be more than 2000 words. The stories may be on any subject The story must be fictional Entries to be submitted…

Wow, great news for Hazel Gaynor who’s Titanic novel The Girl Who Came Home hit the top 100 in the Kindle Store last month, coming in at No.94. With MILLIONS of titles available on Kindle, this is some going. The EBook Friendly website delivered the news, go take a look…

SUBMISSIONS ARE INVITED for the inaugural Fermoy International Poetry Festival Poetry Competition for poets resident in Ireland This year’s judge is Noel King and the best 35 poems will be published in an anthology which will be launched at the festival with €350 going to the writer of the ‘best…

If you are thinking of publishing independently, the Alliance of Independent (ALLIA) authors is an organisation that offers support and a voice to Indie authors. With some serious big hitters on the adivisory panel, it is  a global non-profit making organisation started by Irish author Orna Ross (what can be…

Clare O’Beara was in touch to say she’s been shortlisted again in the A Vogel Herbal Remedies competiton – her story ‘The Most Interesting Person at the Party’ in now live on our Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/JwlYyL   >> If you read it and like it please vote! She says, “This…

Norman Darlington was in touch to tell you about the Journal of Renga & Renku, an annual publication of Darlington Richards Press, based in Ireland and South Africa. This exciting new journal is devoted to all aspects of the Japanese collaborative poetic genre of renga and renku. It includes scholarly…

Inkwell Writer Brigid O’Connor was in touch with great news, she says: Hi Vanessa, I entered a UK first chapter competition, Novelicious Undiscovered, a commercial women’s lit competition. My piece ‘The Irish Poet’ has been shortlisted. The twenty first chapters will be featured on the Novelicious site during May and…

The Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition is an annual short story competition open to writers from around the world. It is dedicated to one of Ireland’s most accomplished story writers and theorists, sponsored by the Munster Literature Centre. If the winner comes to Cork to collect their prize, we…

Oisin McGann was in touch to say; “One lucky reader will make a cameo appearance in my next novel – like a walk-on part in a film, except you won’t have to walk. Runners-up will get a signed copy of all three Wildenstern novels. You can find the details about…

To mark National Flash Fiction Day on Wednesday 16th May 2012, the Big Smoke Writing Factory will be holding a Flash Fiction Reading from 7pm onwards in the Back Loft (La Catedral Studios, Augustine St, D8). Guest readers and emerging writers will read their short stories of up to 500…

Finally, after a short delay due to broad band issues (or lack of), we can announce the winners of the New Big Book of Hope eBook Competition! The editorial team at Y Books had a tough time deciding on the final three, but here they are: In Fiction Alison Wells…

ARTS BURSARY, INCUBATION SPACE, TYRONE GUTHRIE RESIDENCY AND UNITS 3 & 4 AWARDS 2012   1.       ARTS BURSARY Dublin City Council invites applications from artists who wish to be considered for a Bursary of €4000 towards studies at an advanced level or the development of work/professional skills. Artists,…

We had a fabulous response to the Big Book of Hope eBook Competition, huge thanks to everyone who entered! The shortlist is as follows, in no particular order: Fr. David Keating “Now is All I Have” David Fairclough “Beginnings” Jillian Godsil “Bang in the Middle” Mary Healy “Braille of Brocade”…

Clare Ryan and Paddy Reid were both in touch this week to let you know that they are in the final of the A Vogel Write a Bedtime Story competition. You can vote for their stories by ‘liking’ them on Facebook before 10th April at 4pm. I know they’d be…

Yasmin O’Grady runs creative writing weekends in her fabulous historic house,  mentored by novelist Denyse Woods, director of the West Cork Literary Festival.  Workshops are relaxed and inspiring with plenty of time to write and the bonus of expert publishing advice on hand. The weekend begins with a champagne reception…

This is a superb post from literary agent Darley Anderson that spells out exactly what your covering letter should include when it comes to the bit about you. It’s part of a series, so do have a read through each article. They say:”In my experience the part of the covering…

Attica are now open for submissions. Attica is an independent ebook-first publisher are actively seeking submissions to build up lists in mystery, historical fiction, fantasy, and wit and whimsy. Run by former publishing professionals and authors with extensive experience on both sides of a contract they say ” We’ve worked…

The New Big Book of Hope eBook is a blend of inspirational fiction and non-fiction from over 40 of Ireland’s best-known writers and personalities. Royalties from the sale of the eBook will go to support The HOPE Foundation’s invaluable work breaking the cycle of poverty for street children in Kolcatta,…

Currach Press is an organic offshoot, and the secular imprint, of Columba Press. Although in it’s infancy, relative to Columba, we are working hard to get it to a viable and independent stage. For this we need submissions and writers. We have decided to accept unsolicited manuscripts to give Irish…

Faber and Faber, together with online education experts PWA, are delighted to announce the launch of Faber Academy Online, a brand-new web-based creative writing platform powered by Moodle 2. Jason Cooper, Director of Academy and Digital said, ‘Since we launched the first courses in 2008, people around the world have…

It was so successful last year, our annual First Page Competition 2012 is now open with an increased first prize of £500 – DOUBLE last year’s. What are we looking for: the most gripping, read-on-able first page of up to 400 words. Any genre, but as always we’re looking for…

Arts Council funded free publishing site FeedARead.com is hosting a competition with a prize of a critique for the winner’s opening chapters from an editor for Piatkus, part of the Little Brown group who publish books such as the Twilight series. To enter, entrants must read a brief extract and…

For those of you who haven’t had the chance to read my work before, and who enjoy contemporary romance, my women’s fiction novel True Colours was launched today as a free read on Kindle to celebrate World Book Day. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle…

The annual UCD MA in Creative Writing Anthology Contest is currently accepting submissions. Categories include both short stories and poetry, one winner will be chosen from each. The competition is open to all writers, from now until midnight on Monday 30th of April 2012. Each winning entry, along with the entrant’s…

Ether is a mobile publishing platform which licences ‘Quick Reads’ straight to a mobile app, currently available on the iPhone and iPhone Touch. We have readers across the world, a community which is rapidly growing. Quick Reads aren’t restricted to any genre or form of writing as we publish short…

A star-studded line-up from the world of literature will decide the winner of this year’s Dundee International Book Prize. National treasure Stephen Fry, legendary novelist Philip Pullman, top Scottish author Alan Bissett, and top literary agent Jenny Brown will cast their eyes over the submissions of aspiring novelists from around…

Blackhall Publishing, founded in 1997 and based in Dublin, is a leading publisher of law books and reports. They reorganised their publishing operations in July of last year and now have a new imprint entitled Orpen Press, which is dedicated to all non-law topics: Orpen Press An imprint of Blackhall…

  WE ARE NOW OPEN TO MEMBERSHIP FOR 2012! If you are striving to take your writing to another level then Eblana Writers’ Workshops are for you. We are a dedicated group, meeting every month in a supportive environment for encouragement and critique.  Our aim is to help bring each…

  €15,000 for a work of fiction by an Irish Author Adjudicated By: Mr John Boland and Ms Rita Ann Higgins   Writers’ Week Literary Festival will take place from 30th May to 3rd June 2012.   There are only just over two weeks left to submit entries for the…

We are calling for submissions for our next anthology to be published in November 2012 The theme is Connections and we are especially looking for interesting interpretations of this theme from science to community, the physical to the thoughtful. Rules There is no entry fee. Poems of no more than…

20 stories will be shortlisted for the first prize. The 20 shortlisted writers will be invited to an awards ceremony in Bristol on July 14th 2012 when the winners will be announced and the BSSP Anthology Volume 5 will be launched. Prizes and anthologies will be sent to any shortlisted…

Like the idea of going to Lithuania to study writing? Check out this contest for the Summer Literary Seminars. Our editor, Ander Monson, is judging nonfiction. You know you love nonfiction. And our editor. Or maybe not, in which case don’t tell us or him. Info [here]. Winner gets travel…

For fiction of 500 words or fewer. First prize €150, with additional prizes for younger writers. Winning and shortlisted entries will be published in print and/or online.   The judge will be the novelist Alex Barclay.   The closing date is 6 April 2012, and the entry fee is €5…

Arts Administrator (Temporary) The position has arisen of Temporary Arts Administrator employed by The Dock to undertake a wide range of administrative duties in relation to arts programming and management. The Dock comprises a 117-seat performance space, exhibition spaces, workshops, artists’ studios and a café bar. The ideal candidate will…

BARE HANDS INTERNATIONAL POETRY & PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2012 We’ve launched a competition. Not just any competition. Let me tell you why Promoting your work is not an easy feat. You can do things online but it’s nice to have something in print, something you can put on your wall, like…

Caroline Finnerty has just been in touch to say: ‘ I attended the Inkwell Getting Published course in May 2010 and have recently received some good news that you might wish to share with the Inkwell Writers. At the time, I had just started writing ‘In a Moment’ and I am delighted…

It’s official! This is the press release: Hachette Books Ireland acquires new psychological crime author Louise Phillips in a two book deal struck between Ciara Doorley, Editorial Director, Hachette Books Ireland and Ger Nichol of The Book Bureau for Irish and UK Commonwealth rights, for an undisclosed sum Red Ribbons,…

Mslexia Women’s Short Story Competition is open for submissions for stories up to 2,200 words. First prize is £2,000 plus a weeks writing retreat and a day with a Virago editor. This year’s judge is Tessa Hadley, closing date March 19th. For more info visit www.mslexia.co.uk Mslexia Magazine are also…

For Inkwell Writer Sally Clements, the surge in eBook purchases around Christmas resulted in a major boost in her sales. Using clever marketing techniques and a lot of online savvy, romance writer Sally reveals on her blog Love and Chocolate what happened: “In this, my first blog post of 2012,…

This is an excellent article from The Guardian, all about the changing face of publishing, well worth a read: “The media and the market for books are in flux in the age of ebooks and Amazon, but publishers still have a vital role, says Faber’s chief executive. 2011 was a…

Calling all armchair novelists: Facebook isn’t just a place to waste time anymore. They say: In a move seemingly contrary to the deliberate brevity of Twitter, Facebook dramatically expanded its character limit in November to 63,206. This recently got us thinking, “Just what exactly could you fit in 63,206 characters,…

The MA Literature and Publishing class of 2012 is calling for submissions for the 20th issue of ROPES. The theme, this year, is ‘Links’. We hope to reveal the journey of the publication from its origins in 1993 to the present. ‘Links’ may be interpreted as a reflection on the…

The 2012 Bristol Short Story Prize is open to all writers, who are aged more than 16 years of age. Prizes: £1,000 and a £150 Waterstone’s gift card with lesser prizes offered for succeeding places. Some 17 further prizes of £100 will be presented to the writers whose stories appear…

The RTÉ Radio Francis Mac Manus Short Story Competition is accepting entries to the 2012 competition. The author of the overall winning story will receive €3,000 with prizes of €2,000 or €1,000 awarded to second or third prize winners. Each of the 25 short-listed stories is read and recorded by…

In October Authonomy announced that HarperCollins is launching a new imprint, dedicated to authonomy authors. Their first title, THE QUALITIES OF WOOD by Mary Vensel White – a former editor’s desk winner – will be published as a digital original on January 31st. They are now thrilled to be able…

20th ANNIVERSARY WILLS WRITING AWARDS £3,125 in prizes and the opportunity to be published The Wills Writing Awards “offer a unique, once a year opportunity for any young writer with an ounce of interest in racing or horses.  In the direct words of the not entirely racing-orientated John McEnroe, “if…

Listowel Writers Week , one of the most prestigious literary festivals in Ireland running from 30th May – 3rd June, have announced their literary competitions – plenty to choose from! Literary Competitions 2012 The closing date for receipt of entries is Friday 2nd March 2012. The Kerry Group Irish Novel…

2012 is a great year already for Inkwell writers, and we’ve just heard that Lisa Burkitt is having her first novel published by the History Press in May, 2012! Lisa says ”The Memory of Scent’, historical fiction, was navigated in its early stages by Vanessa O’Loughlin who gave valuable feedback…

Author Caroline Smailes is proposing a writing challenge. Are you a writer? Would you like to be a writer? Do you write flash fiction? Do you fancy seeing your work published? To celebrate the launch of Xbox Live TV, and its integration with YouTube, she is putting together a collection…

Thanks to Dubray Books who supplied this information -follow the links to order the books mentioned online at their fabulous website! Costa Book Award Winners 2011 The category winners for the 2011 Costa Book Awards have just been announced and include plenty of surprises, such as Andrew Miller beating booker-prize…

I tried to start this post three times yesterday but the good news kept coming in, so I’ve decided to combine the whole lot… This morning Helen Marie Clarke who lives currently in Santa Fe New Mexico, but who hails from New York, signed with literary agent Paul Feldstein of…

6th Annual Short Story competition from www.shortfictionjournal.co.uk First prize: £500 plus publication Second prize: £100 Accepting Submissions between 1 January and 31March 2012. There’s no restriction on theme. Stories must be previously unpublished (in print and online) and should not exceed 5000 words. Entry is £10 which allows you to…

THE TERRY PRATCHETT ANYWHERE BUT HERE, ANYWHEN BUT NOW FIRST NOVEL AWARD Sir Terry Pratchett had this to say: Anywhere but here, anywhen but now. Which means we are after stories set on Earth, although it may be an Earth that might have been, or might yet be, one that…

Great news to kick off 2012! Inkwell Writer Mandy James is to have her first novel published in Ebook form by Crooked Cat Publishing. http://crookedcatpublishing.com/  Mandy took advantage of the Inkwell critiquing service last year, she says: “I am so delighted that my novel Righteous Exposure will be published at…

The Bridport Prize is the richest open writing competition in the English language – with £5000 first prize for a short story (of up to 5000 words); and £5000 first prize for a poem (of up to 42 lines). The category of Flash Fiction attracts £1,000 to be won for…

Great news! Amazon and Penguin Group (USA) have announced the fifth annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest, an international contest seeking fresh new voices in fiction. The Contest awards two grand prizes: one for General Fiction and one for Young Adult Fiction. Each winner will receive a publishing contract with Penguin…

In December 2011 I was delighted to be present as Seamus Heaney officially handed his literary archive to the National Museum, and wondered at the time, what might be the position in twenty years time if (and when) we have a writer of equal world note, handing his or her…

Writers’ Relief is a US based website with an ongoing list of submissions for writers. This is their list of creative writing anthologies and calls for submissions. Each anthology or literary journal has a particular theme and seeks a particular type of writing from poetry to short stories. See third-party…

What do you think of our shiny new website? In a long awaited overhaul I hope that this site will give you can get a much better idea of the services Inkwell offers, which have been growing steadily since I ran the first Inkwell workshop in 2006. This blog is…

If you write crime or thrillers, the Debut Dagger is a competition that could launch your career. Run by The Crime Writers Association (www.thecwa.co.uk) the Debut Dagger is for new authors and as we head closer to the opening of the competition, the CWA send out fabulous bulletin newsletters that…

This is a great article that was in the Wall Street Journal and just proves that self publishing can launch a career. Take special note of how Darcie Chan levered her sales with targeted advertising. Alexander Alter of the WSJ says: This summer, Darcie Chan’s debut novel became an unexpected…

If you are self publishing or publishing with an Independent publisher who has a tight marketing budget, you might be thinking about making your own book trailer. Book trailers are a superb way of taking the message of your story to a wider audience – through You Tube, your own…

For anyone who has tried National Novel Writing Month in November, and for anyone who wanted to but didn’t, there’s a new kid on the block! Sally Quilford has had stories published in most of the major women’s magazines, and had seven pocket novels published My Weekly Pocket Novels which have…