We’re 20 years old!

And to mark this milestone as one of Ireland’s longest-running literary festivals, a one-off international poetry competition is underway with 20 prizes to be won. The on-line competition is for up to 20 lines of new verse prompted by one of 20 images. The winner gets €100, and 19 runners-up receive €20 each, and all 20 will be displayed alongside the pictures at the Festival, May 3^rd – 7^th. Entry is just €3 per poem, and there is no limit to the number of entries. The closing date is Friday, February 9^th and the judge is Noelle Lynskey. To view the images and enter, click here: https://www.strokestownpoetry.org/competitions-2018/2020-competition/

Photo No 111

Roscommon Poet's Prize

The annual poetry prize for writers with a Roscommon connection is also underway, with a closing date of Friday, February 9^th. Poets who live in County Roscommon, or who are a member of a County Roscommon Writers’ Group, are eligible to enter a poem in English of no more than 70 lines. Six shortlisted poets will be invited to read their poem at the Festival in May, and will each receive a €50 reading fee. The winner’s prize is €150, and the judge is Mary Turley McGrath. More details here https://www.strokestownpoetry.org/competitions-2018/roscommon-poets-prize-2018/

Annual Schools’ Competition

This poetry competition is open to pupils attending school in County Roscommon. The poems will be judged in two categories: Primary and Secondary. There is an entry fee of €2 per poem, which can be on any theme or subject. Winners and shortlisted poets will be invited to attend a prize-giving event at Strokestown International Poetry Festival on Friday, May 4^th, 2018. The winner in each category receives €100. The judge is Pete Mullineaux, and the deadline is February 9^th. More details here: https://www.strokestownpoetry.org/competitions-2018/schools-competitions-prize-2018/

Other Poetry Competitions

The judges are working hard to sift through the entries for our annual competitions. The international competition, judged by Moya Cannon and Harry Clifton,  carries a prize of €2000, plus a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat.

Duais de hÍde, which carries a prize of €600 for a poem in Irish, is being judged by Pádraig MacFhearghusa, and the Percy French Prize for humorous poetry judged by Margaret Hickey.

The shortlists for the Duais de hÍde and The Strokestown International Prize will be annonced before the end of February.

The shortlist for the Percy French Competition is available now and can be seen here

https://www.strokestownpoetry.org/competitions-2018/percy-french-prize-comic-verse-2018/

Results will be announced in full at the Festival in May.

Festival Anthology

Following the success of last year’s Strokestown Poetry Anthology, a new anthology is now being compiled, in which poems from shortlisted entrants for the International Prize and the Duais de hÍde will feature, alongside the work of the judges and other poets who will read at the 2018 festival. Copies of the 2017 anthology are available to buy here: https://www.strokestownpoetry.org/poetry-anthology-2017/

The Programme for 2018 will be announced shortly - watch this space!      We think it is very exciting!