Deadline: February 28, 2023
Entry fee: €20
About the competition
The competition is open to original, unpublished, personal essays between 2500 ‒ 5000 words. We’re looking for personal, confessional essays which border on memoir ‒ gripping essays full of memories and feelings. The best indicator of the kind of thing which interests us is what we have published in past issues; essays by Kim Addonizio, Sandra Beasley, Simon Van Booy, Carlo Geblér, Thomas Lynch, Anthony Walton, Helen Mort and Kim Moore.
All nine essays will be published over the course of 18 months (next three issues of Southword).
Essays will be judged anonymously by editor Patrick Cotter.
Competition guidelines
- Send to: essaycomp@munsterlit.ie
Subject: Essay entry - Attachment 1: the essay for submission (Word or other text document – we cannot accept PDFs). As the competition is judged anonymously, we request that you do not write your name or personal details anywhere on this document.
- Attachment 2: cover letter (separate text document attached to the same email, not in the body of the email). The cover letter should include:
- Your name
- Essay title
- Email address
- Postal address
- Image of PayPal receipt or the PayPal transaction ID number
- Read the whole guideline and enter the competition here.