Southword Literary Essay Competition
Judge: Patrick Cotter
1st Prize:
€1,000
8 Runners-Up:
€500
All nine essays will be published over the course of 18 months (next three issues of Southword)
There is an entry fee of €20
Competition open: 1st December 2021
Deadline: 28th February 2023
The competition is open to original, unpublished, personal essays between 2500 ‒ 5000 words. We’re looking for personal, confessional essays which border on memoir ‒ gripping essays full of memories and feelings. The best indicator of the kind of thing which interests us is what we have published in past issues; essays by Kim Addonizio, Sandra Beasley, Simon Van Booy, Carlo Geblér, Thomas Lynch, Anthony Walton, Helen Mort and Kim Moore.
Submission Details
Send to: essaycomp@munsterlit.ie
Subject: Essay entry
Attachment 1: the essay for submission (Word or other text document – we cannot accept PDFs). As the competition is judged anonymously, we request that you do not write your name or personal details anywhere on this document.
Attachment 2: cover letter (separate text document attached to the same email, not in the body of the email). The cover letter should include:
- Your name
- Essay title
- Email address
- Postal address
- Image of PayPal receipt or the PayPal transaction ID number
Essays will be judged anonymously by editor Patrick Cotter.
The link below will bring you to a payment screen for the €20 fee: