Submissions are now invited for this year’s Roscommon New Writing Award. The initiative is organised as part of the county’s Literary Development Programme, funded by Roscommon County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland, and supported by the Roscommon Herald.
Two winners will each receive a monetary prize of €500 for short fiction or €500 for poetry. Two runners-up will receive €100 each for short fiction or for poetry.
The Roscommon Chapbook Bursary has been established to assist Roscommon writers with the costs associated with publishing a modest collection of poems (between 15 and 20), or a compact collection of short stories (between three and six). One award of €600 will be offered in 2026.
The 2026 competitions will be adjudicated by Gerry Boland, who is a Dublin-born author and poet. Gerry writes for adults and for children and has published ten books to date, his latest being his third poetry collection, All That Jazz, published in 2022 by Arlen House.
Gerry Boland’s forthcoming book of photos and poems on the theme of compassion and animal rights will be published by Lantern Publishing & Media in early 2027. He was Writer-in-Residence for Roscommon County Council in 2013 and 2014.
The closing date for receipt of entries is 4 pm on Thursday, July 16th. Further information is also available by clicking on https://www.roscommoncoco.ie/en/services/community/arts-office/literature.html
