Competitions
Our Competitions
**Closed**
In view of the extraordinary times in which we are all currently living, Words By Water: Kinsale Literary Festival has decided to make some changes to its annual short story and poetry awards.
Rather than leave the theme open, we invite writers and poets to reflect on the current challenges our society faces and address them in story and poem. The theme remains broad, we leave it up to you to decide if you want to address the Covid-19 outbreak specifically or look at a particular facet such as isolation or the changes the restrictions have wrought in our social structures.
With new norms for everything from how we say goodbye to lost loved ones to how we shop and interact with each other on the street, we think there is huge scope for poets and writers to address the current situation. We will also welcome entries which, rather than looking at life as it is now, imagine how our lives will look in the post-pandemic future.
Competitions for young people
This year, as we are unable to host our outdoor play and other events for young people in our area, we will also hold separate short story competitions for younger writers from Cork. Our U16 competitions will be free for young people to enter, and capped at one entry per entrant.
In addition to the prize of book vouchers and publication in The Echo, we are also hoping to choose a selection of entries for an online compilation, and may publish a physical copy of this collection in the future.
Competition Winners
Short Story
Winner: Cadenza by Rachael Murray
2nd: Coercion Cake by Rhiannon Lewis
3rd: On Edge by David Butler
3. On Edge
Poetry:
Winner: Prelapsarian by Partridge Boswell
2nd: To the Barber of Labrraid Loingsech by Niamh Twomey
3rd: Rolling a Cigarette by Daniel Johnson
Irish Poetry
Winner: Cóisir an Taoisigh by Caitriona Lane
2nd: Lasair Choille by David Butler
3rd: Íomhánna an Iarthair by David Butler
Kids
Seventy-Two Hours by Sophie Peare
What does the sky know? By Sarah Fitzgerald
Water by Jack Peterson Harrington
Wump’s Killer Wasps V’s The Captains of the Earth by Louie Shortall