Culture
Limerick Writers Centre launch inaugural Gerald Griffin Competition for First Original Adult Fiction 2024
Gerald Griffin Competition for First Original Adult Fiction 2024 has been launched and during the course Ciarán O’Driscoll will provide invaluable mentorship
The Gerald Griffin Competition is named after one of Limerick’s most illustrious writers Gerald Griffin
Limerick Writers’ Centre is proud to announce the inauguration of the Gerald Griffin Competition for First Original Adult Fiction. The competition will take place as part of a new novel writing course given by poet and novelist Ciarán O’Driscoll. Aspiring authors are invited to submit 1500 to 2000 words as a prerequisite for participating in the upcoming novel writing course, to be conducted over four Saturdays in February 2024, in Limerick. After the submissions are assessed ten writers will be invited to join the course, with a participation fee of €70.
During the course Ciarán O’Driscoll will provide invaluable mentorship, guiding participants in all aspects of writing fiction, with the end goal for each participant to craft a compelling 10,000 word manuscript. Following the course, six selected participants will be invited to submit a completed work (25,000 words minimum) for adjudication. The writer of the most promising novel/novella, as judged by Ciarán O’Driscoll and an external invited judge, will have their work published by Limerick Writers’ Centre in Oct/Nov 2024, as part of their community publishing programme.
The closing date for initial submissions (no fee payable) is Fri 26th Jan 2024.
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About Gerald Griffin
The Gerald Griffin Competition is named after one of Limerick’s most illustrious writers Gerald Griffin (1803-1840). Novelist, poet and playwright he was the author of The Collegians, which was based on the gripping story of The Colleen Bawn, involving the murder of a young Irish Catholic girl (Ellen Hanley) by a Protestant Anglo-Irish man (John Scanlon). The book later became a literary sensation and inspired a stage play, a musical adaptation and a silent movie Lily of Killarney. Griffin’s novel, which transposed its setting from Limerick to Killarney, played a pivotal role in propelling the Killarney tourist industry. Interestingly, the book was cherished by none other than the American poet Walt Whitman.
About Ciaran O’Driscoll
Ciarán O’Driscoll lives in Limerick and is a member of Aosdána. He has published ten books of poetry, a childhood memoir titled A Runner Among Falling Leaves and A Year’s Midnight, a novel. He is currently collaborating with New York writer Susan Tepper on a play, Lady in a Post Box, set during the Emergency in 1940s Ireland. Additionally, his novella The Golden Ass is due out from Limerick Writers’ Centre Publishing in March 2024.
Full Rules available HERE
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