News at Writing4all.ie

Everyone knows that self-publishing is a game-changer. But could the writing improve - and in turn, become more respected - by going through the editorial process? Editor and writer, John Kenny, thinks so...

SCD Goff's debut novel, "Lady Languish", is a whole world away from your usual cookie-cutter YA fiction. She spoke to Writing4all about her experiences of writing the book, the importance of setting, and how her experiences in the publishing industry convinced her that great books do sometimes slip through the net...

The South Circular, a quarterly e-journal of short stories by emerging authors, was launched just last month. Here, editor and publisher Aoife Walsh tells us why she established the journal, why short stories are important, and why DIY might just be the future of publishing...

RWW are inviting poetry submissions for their anthology. The winner and two runners-up will be published in the forthcoming RWW Anthology. The 3 winning entrants will be invited to read their poems at the launch to be held in Dublin and will also receive a free copy of the publication. Interested? Read on...

Every month we select winning entries from Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry writings on the site. Winning entries are eligible for inclusion in our annual Best of Writing4all anthology. Here's the February winners...

Another flash fiction competition! €5 to enter, €150 prize. Deadline: April 6, 2012. Read on for further details...

Currach Press is an organic offshoot, and the secular imprint, of Columba Press. Although in its infancy, relative to Columba, they are working hard to get Currach Press to a viable and independent stage. To enable them to do this they need submissions and writers. They have decided to accept unsolicited manuscripts to give Irish writers a chance to get published and to hopefully unearth some of the talent they know exists in the country.

For those named on the shortlist, the waiting is (finally, finally) over:  The results of the Writing Spirit Award 2011 are here. 

The lucky (though, of course, hugely talented) first-place winner takes away €1000, with the runner-up picking up €200, and the third place entrant winning €100.  As well as this, the top three stories will be published in our annual anthology, Writing4all: Best of 2011, along with all the monthly winners from the Writing4all site.

So, without further ado, here are the winners, as chosen by head judge Christine Dwyer Hickey:

1st place: Alan McMonagle, 'Beside Titan's Sea'

2nd place: Noel O'Regan, 'Stopover'

3rd place: Gerry Boland, 'A First Cigarette'

Note: All winners will be contacted directly for arrangement of payment and publishing.

A huge congratulations to all the above authors, and also to all those authors who made the shortlist. The writing, as always, was of a fantastic standard.

"The Binnacle will sponsor its Eighth International Ultra-Short Competition in the 2011-2012 academic year.  We are looking for prose works of 150 words or fewer and poetry of sixteen lines or fewer and fewer than 150 words.  All works should have a narrative element to them. Entry is free. Read on for further details..."