Organisers of this year's Listowel Writers’ Week are encouraging the new wave of Irish in Britain to enter The Irish Post’s New Writing Competition that will run as part of the internationally renowned Kerry summer festival.

The competition, in association with Stena Line, is not open to residents of Ireland and instead aims to unearth new Irish writing talent in Britain.

It is one of 12 competitions in Ireland’s leading literary festival, which also features a series of writers’ workshops led by some the country’s leading authors, playwrights and journalists.

The week-long event – taking place from May 30 -June 3, is celebrating its 41st anniversary this year having by founded by prominent Irish writers like John B. Keane and Dr Bryan MacMahon.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of competitions after the original event featured a series of workshop that still make up the mainstay of the festival.

Dublin born novelist and Irish Post columnist Joseph O’Connor was based in London when he was approached by festival founder John B Keane to headline one of the workshops shortly after publishing his first book, Cowboys and Indians in 1991.

O’Connor is best known for his 2002 Irish Famine related novel Star of the Sea, which was the highest selling novel in Britain that year and has since sold over six million copies and been translated into 40 languages.

Festival committee member Máire Logue said: “Joseph lived in London at the time but wasn’t enjoying the best of fortune. He got a call from John B who told him we (at the festival) like what you are doing so why don’t you come over and attend one of the workshops.

“He later admitted that when he got that call it was proof he was on the right track and look where he is now. There is a Joseph O’Connor is all of us and I encourage people to put pen to paper and give this competition a lash because the winner just could become someone just as important.”

The festival will feature a new travel writing workshop for the first time this year and will run alongside 13 other workshops that range from song writing to advanced creative writing.

Ms Logue added: “People have been asking for a travel workshop and travel writing and blogging has come very much to the fore in recent years so it was time to include it. We try to change direction every two years to keep it fresh and this is one way of doing that.”

A highlight of the festival will be the presentation of The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year award – the €15,000 prize fund is the biggest in Irish literature.

For details of how to enter The Irish Post/ Stena Line New Writing Competition see below.

Listowel Writers’ Week  highlights

Several awards will be handed out over the course of the week-long festival but the highlight will be the unveiling of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year. The winner will take home 15,000 euros. Previous winners include Breakfast at Babylon by Emer Martin while acclaimed film maker Neil Jordan is a double winner for his books Mistaken (2011) and Shade (2005).
Two creative writing workshops will headline this year’s festival. ‘Getting Started’ will be hosted by Kerry author and poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice who has penned more than 40 books while the Advanced is led by London-based Belfast man Ronan Bennett, whose third book Havoc in its Third Year won the 2006 Hughes and Hughes/Irish Times novel of the year in 2006.
A similar series of workshops will run for aspiring novel writers. Dublin born but British-based novelist and university lecturer Aifric Campbell will lead the ‘Getting Started’ section while the ‘Advanced’ section will be hosted by Co. Down-born author Eoin McNamee.
The new 2012 Travel Writing workshop will call on the experience of Manchan Magan whose travel programmes No Bearla, where he travelled around Ireland speaking only in Irish, sparked international debate.  The three-day workshop runs from May 31 to June 1 and is limited to 15 students.
Listowel Writers week have team-up with Siamsa Tíre, Ireland’s National Folk Theatre, for the Eamon Keane Full Length Play award. The winner will pocket €500 and a staged reading as part of the folk theatre’s New Voices Platform at its Tralee theatre.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR SHORT STORY

The Irish Post has teamed up with Ireland’s premier literary festival to offer you the chance to see your work in print.

Listowel Writers’ Week takes place in the Co. Kerry town from May 30-June 3. It will feature a host of talks, seminars and workshops featuring some of the world’s best-known writers.

And one of the highlights will be the presentation of the annual Irish Post/Stena Line New Writing Award.

The competition is open to anyone with Irish roots based in Britain.

We’re looking for an original short story of up to 3,000 words reflecting Irish life in Britain. The winner will enjoy free travel to the Listowel Writers’ Week plus £500 prize money!

Work will also be published in the official Listowel Writers’ Week brochure as well as the pages of The Irish Post.

So if you fancy a shot at this fantastic prize simply get writing now.

Entries can be either e-mailed or posted:

Send them to...

Listowel Competition

The Irish Post,

Suite A, 1 Lindsey Street, London EC1A 9HP

Alternatively you can e-mail your submission to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Make sure you include the title of your story, name, address and telephone number.

The closing date for entries is March 2, 2012 and the winners will be announced shortly afterwards.