TIGH LITRÍOCHTA
Welcome to the Munster Literature Centre Founded in 1993, the Munster Literature Centre (Tigh Litríochta) is a non-profit arts organisation dedicated to the promotion and celebration of literature, especially that of Munster. To this end, we organise festivals, workshops, readings and competitions. Our publishing section, Southword Editions, publishes a biannual journal, poetry collections and short stories. We actively seek to support new and emerging writers and are assisted in our efforts through funding from Cork City Council, Cork County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland. Originally located in Sullivan's Quay, the centre moved to its current premises in the Frank O'Connor House (the author's birthplace) at 84 Douglas Street, in 2003. In 2000, the Munster Literature Centre organised the first Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival, an event dedicated to the celebration of the short story and named for one of Cork's most beloved authors. The festival showcases readings, literary forums and workshops. Following continued growth and additional funding, the Cork City - Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award was introduced in 2005, coinciding with Cork's designation as that year's European Capital of Culture. The award is now recognised as the single biggest prize for a short story collection in the world and is presented at the end of the festival. In 2002, the Munster Literature Centre introduced the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Prize, an annual short story competition dedicated to one of Ireland's most accomplished story writers and theorists. This too is presented during the FOC festival. The centre also hosts the Cork Spring Literary Festival each year. Workshops are held by featured authors in both autumn and spring, allowing the general public to receive creative guidance in an intimate setting for a minimal fee. In addition, the centre sponsors a Writer in Residence each year. We invite you to browse our website for further information regarding our events, Munster literature, and other literary information. Should you have any queries, we would be happy to hear from you.
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Visit our dedicated Cork Spring Literary Festival website here:
17 February - 20 February 2010
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Best Irish Poetry 2010 reviewed in RTÉ radio's Arena.
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SPRING LITERARY FESTIVAL 2010: THE LORE OF PLACE
February 17 - 20
Click on the programme for more information!
Click here to download the festival programme. Click here to download the festival timetable of events.
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The 2010 Gregory O'Donoghue Shortlist
Listed alphabetically: Lauren K. Alleyne– New York, USA Siobhan Campbell– Dublin, Ireland John F. Deane– Dublin, Ireland Patrick Deeley– Dublin, Ireland Maureen Gallagher– Galway, Ireland John Gerard– Cork, Ireland Catherine Phil MacCarthy– Dublin, Ireland Patrick Maddock– New Ross, Ireland Pete Mullineaux– Galway, Ireland Cristina Newton– Swindon, UK Mary Anne Perkins– Richmond, UK Jane Robinson– Enniskerry, Ireland Cherry Smyth– London, UK
Please note that the prize-winners have been personally notified, and the result will be announced at the Spring Literary Festival.
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Southword Journal Online is now accepting submissions of poetry and short fiction for issue 18.
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SOUTHWORD 17 NOW ONLINE!
Featuring work from Martín Espada, Theo Dorgan, Billy Ramsell, the Seán Ó Faoláin Competition winner--Alexa Beattie, and the photography of John Minihan. _______________
Best of Irish Poetry 2010 on sale now at a special web price!
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New Featured Poets at Poetry International: Martina Evans and Pat Boran
Pat Boran was born in Portlaoise, Ireland, in 1963 and currently lives in Dublin. Prior to taking over the running of the press in 2005, he had published four collections of poetry with Dedalus: The Unwound Clock (1990), which won the Patrick Kavanagh Award, Familiar Things (1993), The Shape of Water (1996) and As the Hand, the Glove (2001). His New and Selected Poems (first published by Salt Publishing in 2005) was reissued, with minor revisions, by Dedalus in November 2007.
Poems and more at Poetry International.org
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The Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Competition
The Munster Literature Centre is pleased to announce a new international poetry prize for a single poem. Click here for more information.
1st Prize €1000, publication in Southword and a trip to Cork Ireland. 2nd Prize €500 publication in Southword 3rd Prize €250 publication in Southword Ten runners-up to be published in Southword and receive €30 publication fee.
Deadline Tuesday December 15th
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Poetry and Fiction workshops starting soon. Register ASAP!
Poetry with James Harpur Brighten the darkening autumn evenings by taking a fresh look at poetry and the way you write it. Each of the sessions will be loosely divided into two parts: the first will involve a general discussion about a specific poetic theme. The second part will concentrate on participants’ work, which will be appraised by James and the other members of the group. Fiction with Vincent McDonnell This workshop will look at some of the important techniques required to produce good fiction. They will inspire and encourage beginners as well as experienced writers, and will imbue both with the enthusiasm necessary to continue writing after they have completed the workshops. At the beginning of each workshop there will be a discussion on technique, while the remainder of the workshop will focus on the writing of the participants. Poetry begins 7 October and runs weekly on Wednesday nights. Fiction begins 8 October and runs weekly on Thursday nights. For more information or to register, please visit our workshops page.
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Previous articles and information available on the Archives page.
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Read Southword Journal Online
Issue 17 is now up!
Spring Literary Festival
17 February - 20 February
Best Irish Poetry in English 2010
Visit our bookstore here.
Poetry International.org
The Munster Literature Centre produces the Irish section of this prestigious poetry site. Current featured poets are Martina Evans and Pat Boran. For further information, please visit the site at www.poetryinternational.org.
The Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Competition is now closed.
Click the photo above to view the shortlisted authors.
Workshops
Workshops in poetry and fiction will be starting in early 2010. The leaders include published poet and fiction writers. The workshops are offered to the general public for a minimal fee. Full details will be available in late January.
Festivals
The Munster Literature Centre hosts two annual festivals. The larger Cork City - Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival takes place each September, while the Cork Spring Literary Festival, with varying themes, is presented each spring. Further information is available on our drop down menus.
Munster Literature Centre
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Frank O'Connor House, 84 Douglas Street, Cork, Ireland. Tel. (353) 021 4312955 Email munsterlit@eircom.net |
Irish Registered Charity No.12374 |
Martina Evans was born in 1961 to a large family in County Cork, where her mother ran a pub, a shop and a petrol station. The youngest of ten siblings, family and local history is a major presence in her work. After studying at UCC and St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, she began a fifteen-year career as a radiographer. Evans moved to London in the late 1980s, where she completed a degree in English and Philosophy with the Open University and began writing poetry and novels. Awards soon followed, including the Betty Trask Award in 1995 and the Arts Council England Award in 1999 for her novels Midnight Feast and No Drinking No Dancing No Doctors respectively. Additionally, she is involved in the writing community as a creative writing teacher (London Metropolitan University), competition judge (Listowel) and journalist (Irish Post, Irish Times and The Guardian)
