Speaking of Roscommon, The New Roscommon Writing Award is coming up

Then and Now

Light cavorting on the stream,

choruses of flies on dung,

and the flush green of Roscommon fields.

Whole afternoons I would spend

watching minnows dart

beneath those smidereens of sunlight.

Larder to larder, cold flowing weed,

combed fresh opulence.

No trickery in a jam jar; dull brown they died.

This morning sitting in Dublin;

smidereens of sunlight played on the ceiling

and I remembered this.

and speaking of Roscommon:

The NEW ROSCOMMON WRITING AWARD 2016 is organised as part of the county’s literature development programme. It is funded by Roscommon County Council and The Arts Council, and supported by the Roscommon Herald and by Shannonside FM.

The winner will receive a monetary prize of €500 and will have their winning entry printed in the Roscommon Herald. It will also be broadcast on Shannonside FM. (Four runners-up will receive €50 each)

Closing date for entries is 30 November 2016

Enquiries to

ghoare@roscommoncoco.ie.

Competition Rules

·         Entries, in English, on any theme, in any literary form, will be accepted.

·         The competition is open to anyone over 18. All entrants must have a connection with the county of Roscommon (born in, living in, currently working in, went to school in, etc).

·         Typed entries (handwritten entries cannot be accepted) must be no more than 500 words. Mark the number of words in your entry on the bottom of the page. Entries over the 500 word limit will be automatically disqualified. There is a limit of two entries per entrant.

·         Include your name, address and contact details, plus your connection to the county. Include these on a separate page, not on your entry. 

·         There is no entry fee. All entries must be received by 30 November 2016.

·         The competition will be adjudicated by Brian Leyden. The judge’s decision is final. 

·         Post your entry to: NEW ROSCOMMON WRITING AWARD 2016, Aras an Chontae, Roscommon Arts Office, Roscommon. You may also email your entry to: ghoare@roscommoncoco.ie. Title your email NEW ROSCOMMON WRITING AWARD 2016.

·         The names of the shortlisted writers will be announced in local media and online at http://www.roscommoncoco.ie/en/Services/Comm_Ent/Arts_Office/literature.htm

·         The awards ceremony will take place early in 2017, on a date and at a venue to be announced.