Munster Literature Centre
Ionad Litríochta an Deisceart

Archived Announcements

  • Submission dates for Southword
    Unsolicited submissions of poetry and short fiction (for our 2025 winter issue) are open as follows: POETRY: 1st ‒ 31st January FICTION: 1st ‒ 28th February Our Submittable account limit means that we can only receive 1000 submissions per month, so if we reach this limit before the end of January (for poetry) or February… Read more: Submission dates for Southword
  • Episode 19 of the Southword Poetry Podcast
    Episode 19 with John W. Sexton is now available anywhere you get podcasts. John W. Sexton was born in 1958 and identifies with the Aisling poetic tradition. His work spans vision poetry, contemporary fabulism and tangential surrealism. He is the author of seven poetry collections including The Offspring of the Moon (Salmon Poetry 2013), Futures Pass (Salmon Poetry 2018), Visions… Read more: Episode 19 of the Southword Poetry Podcast
  • The Farmgate Café National Poetry Award
    postal Submissions by publishers accepted 9 – 30 January 2025 The award will be €2000 for the best full-length poetry collection published in the previous year (2024) 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. The judges… Read more: The Farmgate Café National Poetry Award
  • Episode 18 of the Southword Poetry Podcast
    Episode 18 with Gail McConnell is now available anywhere you get podcasts. Gail McConnell is from Belfast. She is the author of  of The Sun is Open (Penned in the Margins, 2021) and two poetry pamphlets: Fothermather (Ink Sweat & Tears, 2019) and Fourteen (Green Bottle Press, 2018). Fothermather was shortlisted for the Michael Marks Poetry Award. Gail’s poems have appeared in The Poetry… Read more: Episode 18 of the Southword Poetry Podcast
  • Aneas 5
    €12.00, Southword Editions, 2024, 80 leathanach Iris nua bhliantúil atá tiomnaithe go hiomlán don gcuid is fearr de litríocht chomhaimseartha na Gaeilge í Aneas, iris a léiríonn go bhfuil neart, ealaín, pléasúr agus tathag fós ag baint le litríocht na teanga sinseartha sa tír seo. Laistigh dá clúdach geobhair filíocht, gearrscéalta agus léirmheasanna doimhne ó na scríbhneoirí… Read more: Aneas 5
  • Southword Festival Review winner
    This year the Munster Literature Centre offered prizes for the best reviews of the 2024 Cork International Short Story Festival, written by a current student of University College Cork. The winner, Kyle Barron, received a first prize of €350. Kyle Barron’s interest in literature began in 5th year after reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet. He entered, and… Read more: Southword Festival Review winner
  • Southword 47 out now
    €12.00, Southword Editions, 2024, 130 pages Southword is a literary journal featuring new writing from around the globe. Issue 47 includes short stories from David W. Berner and Natalia Theodoridou, poems from Jonathan Edwards and Fred Johnston, and essays from our Southword Literary Essay Competition by Camille Louise Goering and Fiona O’Rourke. Subscribe and order back… Read more: Southword 47 out now
  • Episode 17 of the Southword Poetry Podcast
    Episode 17 with Paisley Rekdal is now available anywhere you get podcasts. Paisley Rekdal grew up in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of a Chinese American mother and a Norwegian father. She earned a BA from the University of Washington, an MA from the University of Toronto Centre for Medieval Studies, and an MFA from the… Read more: Episode 17 of the Southword Poetry Podcast
  • 2024 Southword Editor’s Poetry Award Result
    This year’s Southword Editor’s Poetry Award has been won by Lucy Holme for the best entry of three poems. The winning poems will be published in Southword 48 (summer 2025) and she will receive €1000. Each entrant for their €24 entry fee will receive a complimentary postage-free, one-year subscription to Southword. Winner Lucy Holme Lucy Holme… Read more: 2024 Southword Editor’s Poetry Award Result
  • 2024 Mentorship Bursary Recipients selected
    Mentorships, applied for through open submission, have been awarded to seven writers living in Munster. Mentorship in Children’s Fiction for Children or Young Adults with Eibhlís Carcione – Bursary recipients: Erin Connally Erin Connally is a writer and illustrator who has recently completed her MA in Creative Writing at University College Cork. Her writing and… Read more: 2024 Mentorship Bursary Recipients selected
  • Southword Festival Review Prize
    The Munster Literature Centre is offering prizes for the best reviews of the 2024 Cork International Short Story Festival, written by a current student of University College Cork. First Prize €350 Second Prize €150 The review must refer to at least four events, but the more comprehensive the better. There is no word limit. Either… Read more: Southword Festival Review Prize
  • Fiction Workshop with Camilla Grudova
    Fiction Workshop with Camilla Grudova on Zoom 4-week workshop on Tuesdays €150 Registration 15 places available Contact info@munsterlit.ie to book (a personalised invoice will be sent by email) Prospectus Week 1 & 2 – Writing and the Five Senses This two-part workshop will explore how engaging all five senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing)… Read more: Fiction Workshop with Camilla Grudova
  • Macedonian Bursary for Cork Poets
    Submit here Deadline 31st October The Munster Literature Centre will provide annual sponsorship of 750 euro as follows: The Cork poet must be a poet who has not read at a Macedonian poetry festival already. The Cork poet must have published at least one poetry chapbook, either published by a reputable publisher or a self-published… Read more: Macedonian Bursary for Cork Poets
  • Episode 16 of the Southword Poetry Podcast
    Episode 16 with Deborah Paredez is now available anywhere you get podcasts. Deborah Paredez is a poet and cultural critic. She is the author of the poetry volumes This Side of Skin (Wings Press 2002) and Year of the Dog (BOA Editions 2020), and the critical study Selenidad: Selena, Latinos, and the Performance of Memory (Duke UP, 2009). Her poetry and essays… Read more: Episode 16 of the Southword Poetry Podcast
  • Culture Night: Archive Videos at the MLC 4-6pm
    We are presenting video archives at the Munster Literature Centre, 84 Douglas street for Culture Night, 20th September. The showing will include interviews and readings from the likes of Frank O’Connor and Edna O’Brien. Drop in any time from 4 – 6 p.m.
  • Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition Results
    The first prize winner of the 2024 Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition, Jack Kennedy, will read his winning story on 19th October 2024 at the Cork International Short Story Festival. The first prize, second prize, and shortlisted stories will be published in Southword (summer 2025). Camilla Grudova was the 2024 judge. First Prize… Read more: Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition Results
  • Southword Editor’s Poetry Award: 30 Sept deadline
    Deadline 30 September. Full guidelines here.
  • 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 or €30 for a batch of five 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,… Read more: O’Donoghue Poetry Competition Open
  • Frank O’Connor Fellow Mentees Selected
    Mentorships with this year’s Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellow, Camilla Grudova, applied for through open submission, have been awarded to four writers living in Munster. Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellow: Camilla Grudova Camilla Grudova lives in Edinburgh. Her critically acclaimed debut collection, The Doll’s Alphabet, was published in 2017. Her first novel, Children of Paradise, was… Read more: Frank O’Connor Fellow Mentees Selected
  • Episode 15 of the Southword Poetry Podcast out now
    Episode 15 with Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh is now available anywhere you get podcasts. Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh was born in Kerry. She has read at festivals in New York, Paris, Montréal, Berlin and Ballyferriter. In 2012 her poem ‘Deireadh na Feide’ won the O’Neill Poetry Prize. ‘Filleadh ar an gCathair’ was chosen as Ireland’s EU Presidency… Read more: Episode 15 of the Southword Poetry Podcast out now