Archived Announcements
- Library events Wednesday 14th Cancelled
Due to industrial action at Cork City Library on Wednesday 14th only, the 2.30pm and 4.00pm events have been cancelled. All other events for the Cork International Short Story festival are unaffected. The festival is in full support of the union and their demands for a fair wage. - Southword Poetry Podcast: Stephen Sexton
Episode 32 with Stephen Sexton is now available anywhere you get podcasts Stephen Sexton’s first book, If All the World and Love Were Young was the winner of the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 2019 and the Shine / Strong Award for Best First Collection. He was awarded the E.M. Forster Award from… Read more: Southword Poetry Podcast: Stephen Sexton - Change in festival line-up
Unfortunately, Bret Anthony Johnston is unable to attend the Cork International Short Story Festival as previously advertised. However, we are happy to say that John Patrick McHugh will now be reading alongside Marie-Helene Bertino on 16th October at 9.00pm in the Cork Arts Theatre. John Patrick McHugh is from Galway. His work has appeared in… Read more: Change in festival line-up - The Farmgate Café National Poetry Award
postal Submissions by publishers accepted until 15 november The award will be €2000 for the best full-length poetry collection published in the previous year (2025) by a poet residing in Ireland. All entered books must be in English. Translations will be accepted as long as the translated poet resides in Ireland. In a year where… Read more: The Farmgate Café National Poetry Award - Southword Poetry Podcast: Máighréad Medbh
Episode 31 with Máighréad Medbh is now available anywhere you get podcasts Máighréad Medbh is a poet and prose writer with nine published books. Most of her poetry books are long-form sequences or narratives, and her ecological verse novel, Parvit of Agelast (Arlen House), was shortlisted for the 2017 Pigott Prize. After her first book… Read more: Southword Poetry Podcast: Máighréad Medbh - Short Fiction Workshop with Zsuzsi Gartner
This four-session workshop offers a deep dive into the geometry of short fiction. We will look the use of time in narrative prose, for what is the structure of a story, its form, but a way of arranging and rearranging time – of deciding what to divulge and when? You will learn how to give… Read more: Short Fiction Workshop with Zsuzsi Gartner - Creative Non-Fiction Workshop with David McLoghlin
How to Improve Your Memoir or Personal Essays by Learning and Practicing the Core Elements of Creative Non Fiction: a Craft Workshop with David McLoghlin This is a course for those writers who are beginning or revising a project, whether memoir or personal essays. Each two-hour class will be equally divided between creative writing workshop… Read more: Creative Non-Fiction Workshop with David McLoghlin - Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition Results
The first prize winner of the 2026 Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition, Martin Jackson, will read his winning story on 17th October at the Cork International Short Story Festival. The first prize, second prize, and shortlisted stories will be published in issue 52 of Southword (summer 2027). Louise Hegarty was the judge and… Read more: Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition Results - Southword Poetry Podcast: Jericho Brown
Episode 30 with Jericho Brown is now available anywhere you get podcasts Jericho Brown is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award and fellowships from The Academy of American Poets, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Brown’s first book, Please… Read more: Southword Poetry Podcast: Jericho Brown - Culture Night: Munster Literature Centre Readings
This Culture Night (18 September, 6-9pm) join us at the Munster Literature Centre in Frank O’Connor House, 84 Douglas street, for a series of readings, first from the 2026 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellow Zsuzsi Gartner and later from poets Gerry Murphy and Patrick Cotter. - O’Donoghue Poetry Competition Open
The Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition is now open for entries. Line limit: 40Closing date: 30th NovemberEntry fee: €7 per poem The competition is open to original, unpublished poems in the English language of 40 lines or fewer. The poem can be on any subject, in any style, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. We are… Read more: O’Donoghue Poetry Competition Open - Visible Poetry Competition
Kemi George-Simpsons is running a poetry competition in collaboration with Cork City Libraries, an overflow from her excellent Black History Month literary events, and conducted in response to the rise of anti-immigration and anti-multicultural sentiment and violence. It opened on August 1st and closes on September 11th, and the link for competition details is via… Read more: Visible Poetry Competition - Mentorships with O’Connor Short Story Fellow Zsuzsi Gartner
Canadian author Zsuzsi Gartner is the 2026 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellow. The fellowship is very kindly funded by Cork City Council and is an initiative of the Munster Literature Centre. There is the opportunity for four Munster fiction writers to be mentored by Gartner, tuition fees covered, between September and November of this… Read more: Mentorships with O’Connor Short Story Fellow Zsuzsi Gartner - Southword Editor’s Poetry Award Open
Enter: 3 poemsClosing date: 30th September (midnight)Entry fee: €24 Prize €1,000 for the best entry of three poems submission details here Each entrant for their €24 entry fee will receive a complimentary postage-free, one-year subscription to Southword. Poems will be read and judged anonymously. Poems must be previously unpublished. The winning poet will have their three poems published in Southword.… Read more: Southword Editor’s Poetry Award Open - Zsuzsi Gartner: 2026 O’Connor Short Story Fellow
Zsuzsi Gartner has been appointed as this year’s Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellow, which includes a three-month residency in Cork and the delivery of workshops and mentorships. The opportunity to apply for mentorships with Zsuzsi Gartner will be posted on our website and Submittable in the coming months. Zsuzsi Gartner is the author of… Read more: Zsuzsi Gartner: 2026 O’Connor Short Story Fellow - Fool for Poetry Chapbook Competition Open
The Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition is now open for entries. Page limit: 16 – 24Closing date: 31st August (midnight)Entry fee: €25 per manuscript The competition is open to new, emerging and established poets from any country. At least one of these winners will be the highest scoring manuscript entered by a poet with no solo… Read more: Fool for Poetry Chapbook Competition Open - Louise Hegarty to judge this year’s Ó Faoláin Competition
Louise Hegarty will judge this year’s Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition, which is open for submissions until 31st July. First prize includes €2000 and a featured reading at the Cork International Short Story Festival (14 – 17 October 2026). Last year’s winning and shortlisted stories can be read in our latest issue of Southword. Louise Hegarty’s… Read more: Louise Hegarty to judge this year’s Ó Faoláin Competition - Southword Subscriber Competition Results 2026
Every year we hold a free-to-enter flash fiction competition and poetry competition exclusively for subscribers to Southword. For each category, all current subscribers are emailed a link in the spring and may submit up to three poems and/or three pieces of flash fiction; it is judged anonymously by James O’Leary and winners are published in… Read more: Southword Subscriber Competition Results 2026 - Online Workshop with Cork International Poetry Fellow Shangyang Fang
Throughout the course, each class will begin with a discussion of a specific aspect of poetic craft and include generative writing exercises designed to inspire new work. Students will also participate in workshops of their poems each week. In addition, participants will receive a packet of poems to read and will be encouraged to write… Read more: Online Workshop with Cork International Poetry Fellow Shangyang Fang - Poetry Mentorships with Cork International Poetry Fellow Shangyang Fang
Shanyang Fang, the inaugural Cork International Poetry Fellow will be available during the months of June and July for mentoring sessions. Mr Fang will mentor three individuals, meeting each for three different sessions lasting two hours to discuss their poems. Eligible applicants for this mentorship must live in Munster and must not be receiving other… Read more: Poetry Mentorships with Cork International Poetry Fellow Shangyang Fang