Welcome to the Munster

Literature Centre

Founded in 1993, the Munster Literature Centre (Ionad Litríochta an Deiscirt) 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.

THE SEÁN Ó FAOLÁIN SHORT
STORY COMPETITION

The Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition is an annual short story competition dedicated to one of Ireland’s most accomplished story writers and theorists, sponsored by the Munster Literature Centre. In previous years, if the winner came to Cork to collect their prize, we lavished them with hotel accommodation, meals, drinks and VIP access to the literary stars at the Cork International Short Fiction Festival. Prizes may vary in future competitions. The 2011 winners received the following prizes:

First Prize: €1,500 (*approx USD $2000/ GBP £1300), publication in the literary journal Southword,
AND a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat. 

Second Prize: €500 and publication in Southword.

Four other shortlisted entries will be selected for publication in Southword and receive a publication fee of €120.

*Currency exchange amounts via XE.com, calculated 11.04.11

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Announcing the 2011 Seán Ó Faoláin Competition Winners

First Prize: P.G. O'Connor (Limerick, Ireland)--'The Haggard'

Second Prize: Laura Rock (Ontario, Canada)--'Woman Cubed'

Commended Stories

Guy Barriscale (Donegal, Ireland)--'Jamesy'

Jeremy Castle (Tipperary, Ireland)--'The Smallest Window in the World'

David O'Doherty (Cork, Ireland)--'Post Office'

Martha Williams (Cornwall, UK)--'Wet Stones'

P.G. O'Connor read his story, 'The Haggard' during the Cork International Short Story Festival and was presented with his prize on the same stage as Edna O'Brien, this year's recipient of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. All of the winning and commended stories (above) will be published in the winter edition of Southword Journal, an online literary magazine in late December/early January.

Congratulations to our winners and commended authors! A sincere thank you to everyone who participated.

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The 2011 Seán Ó Faoláin Competition is now closed.

The next competition will open around May 2012. Return to this page for updates at that time, or join our Facebook Group to keep up to date with all competition developments, including links to work by previous winners. For further information contact The Munster Literature Centre, Frank O'Connor House, 84 Douglas Street, Cork or email the administrator at administrator(AT)munsterlit(DOT)ie.

Click here to view winners and longlisted/commended authors from 2011 and previous years.

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Cork Spring
Poetry Festival

15 - 18 February 2012

Read Southword Journal

Issue 21 now online!

Poetry International.org

MLC produces the Irish section of this prestigious poetry site.
Current poets: Caitríona Ní Chléirchín, Greg Delanty,
Katie Donovan, & Michael O'Loughlin.
www.poetryinternational.org

The Gregory O'Donoghue
International
Poetry Competition

Now closed. Thanks to
everyone who
entered!

Best Irish Poetry in English 2010

Visit our bookstore here.

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.

MLC Workshops

Workshops run in spring & autumn. Check back in October 2011 for more details!

Munster Literature Centre

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Frank O'Connor House, 84 Douglas Street, Cork, Ireland.

Tel. (353) 021 4312955, Email: munsterlit(AT)eircom(DOT)net