Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter Literary Festival is delighted to announce that its 2024 flash fiction competition is open for entries.

Five shortlisted writers will be invited to read their entries at the Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter Literary Festival 17th – 20th October, and the winners will be announced at the event.

The competition will be judged by Averil Meehan. Averil writes flash fiction, poetry, and radio drama. Her collection of poetry, Until Stones Blossom, is published by Summer Palace Press. Averil’s writing has won and/or been placed in various creative writing competitions, read at festivals and events, and broadcast on RTE Radio 1

The winner will receive €150 and runner-up €100. Three highly commended entries will receive book vouchers. The closing date for entries is 1st September 2024. Results will be announced by the end of September.

The submission must be the author’s own unpublished work – this includes, print, online or broadcast. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but please notify us to withdraw from the competition if your work is accepted elsewhere. Entry is free. Entrants must be over 18 and from the island of Ireland. Entries to be in English, or Irish with a translation.

We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives.