| | Welcome to one of our rather infrequent newsletters! We do plan to communicate more by email but our efforts go into preparing and delivering top quality content at the Writing.ie site, with up to ten new articles every week, and the Irish bestsellers every Saturday - the only place you'll find them online! In this newsletter we have a range of opportunities for you, plus a small request! | The Paul McVeigh West Cork Residency 2026Deadline: 30 November 2025 | | | Applications are open for the Paul McVeigh Residency. Now in its third year, previous winners have gone on to get agents, book deals and win literary prizes. The residency will take place near Glengariff, in its stunning forest park, West Cork, from Sunday 25th January until Sunday 1st February 2026. The opportunity is for emerging writers of fiction and non-fiction aged 21 and over living in Ireland and the UK. There is a £20 application fee which entitles ALL applicants to three professional development sessions including an hour-long group zoom session on writing a query letter with Sam Blake and Maria McHale, Directors of Writers Ink. During the residency the three winners will get one-hour group sessions with Louis de Bernières, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Martina Devlin, Kirsty Logan, Robert Olen Butler and Leone Ross. | Voting is NOW OPEN for the An Post Irish Book Awards | We are thrilled that Writing.ie founder Sam Blake has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year for her Parisian set thriller The Killing Sense. If you've found Writing.ie useful over the years and enjoy Sam Blake's bestselling novels, we'd love you to show your support with your voting finger! You can vote for The Killing Sense at www.irishbookawards.ie/vote. You don't have to vote in every category, but everyone who votes will be in with a chance to win a €100 National Book Token! Sincere thanks in advance! | | | If you're not in, you can't win... | | | The Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition Deadline: 30th November 2025 The Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition is open to original, unpublished and unbroadcast poems in the English language of 40 lines or fewer. The poem can be on any subject, in any style, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. Translated work is not in the scope of this competition. Once entered, no alterations can be made to the submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but please notify us immediately should your work be accepted elsewhere. Keep an eye on our competitions page for lots more opportunities. We are constantly updating it and always remember 'if you're not in. you can't win' | In Case You Missed it! | | | A six-part video series produced by the Irish Writers Centre in association with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature The Irish Writers Centre has partnered with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and Dublin City Council for this video series examining literature and legacy, featuring iconic Irish writers from the past 50 years, contemporary writers from the past 15 years and recently emerging writers, all sharing their writing journey, their experiences of writing and performing in Dublin, their thoughts on Dublin as a muse, as a character in its own right, this city of division, riots and rebellions. The series also showcases writers with various backgrounds, coming from different counties and countries who now call Dublin or Ireland home, celebrating the diversity they’ve added to the island’s creativity, a true celebration of all the nations, languages and experiences shaping today’s thriving Irish literature scene. The episodes will roll out monthly from July and viewers will hear from Amy Abdullah Barry, Andrew Hughes, Aoife Barry, Cauvery Madhavan, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Ciara Ni É, Emmet Kirwan, Gustav Parker Hibbett, John Banville, Joseph O’Connor, Madeleine Keane, Marian Keyes, Melatu Uche Okorie, Mike McCormack, Nandi Jola, Neil Jordan, Nuala O’Connor, Olivia Fitzsimons, Peter Sirr, Rafael Mendes, Rick O’Shea, Suad Aldarra, Victoria Kennefick. From candid conversations about getting published to comical reflections on Dublin’s quirks, the series is both an homage and a celebration. Watch Joseph O'Connor with Madeleine Keane here. Watch The Writers Roundtable here. Watch John Banville in Conversation with Neil Jordan here. Watch writers who have made Ireland their home, here. | Writing Historical Fiction: Really Useful Links by Lucy O’Callaghan | | | Obsession author Lucy O'Callaghan writes the regular Really Useful Links column for Writing.ie every week, and she covers a huge range of areas from editing to writing technique, genre and publishing tips - she does the research so you don't have to! Writing historical fiction is a unique and rewarding challenge that blends the art of storytelling with the rigor of research. The writer has the chance to bring the past vividly to life – transforming dates, events, and forgotten voices into compelling human stories. The key lies in striking a balance between historical accuracy and creative imagination: staying true to the essence of an era while crafting characters, conflicts, and emotions that resonate with modern readers. Writing historical fiction is about more than recreating the past—it’s about understanding it, interpreting it, and finding the timeless human truths that connect yesterday to today. Writers should embrace both curiosity and empathy, allowing research to inform their imagination rather than limit it. Lucy has compiled some very handy articles and podcasts that discuss writing historical fiction. You will find lots more of her fabulous articles on our Really Useful Links pages - if something is bothering you, check to see if she's covered it! | Writers Ink - The First Draft | | | | | Every writer’s journey starts with messy beginnings so your first draft should be rubbish. If it isn’t, you’re not writing boldly enough!
A brilliant book isn’t born in the first draft, it’s shaped and rewritten (so many times!).
When you sit down to write that first version, your only job is to get it out of your head and onto the page.
The magic happens in the rewriting.
Think of your first draft as raw clay. It’s lumpy, uneven and might not look like much at first. Without that raw material, there’s nothing to sculpt, refine or polish.
The best writers - yes, even the bestselling ones - don’t write perfect first drafts. They let themselves write messy sentences, plot holes and half-formed ideas because they know perfection is the enemy of creativity.
The difference? They don’t stop there. They keep going.
So when you look at that first draft and feel the sting of “this isn’t good enough,” remind yourself:
Every great book began as a terrible first draft.
You’re supposed to feel uncertain, even uncomfortable. It means you’re growing.
Your first draft is not the end of the story, it’s the beginning.
Want to hone that masterpiece? Join the live mentoring and coaching programme in the Writers Ink community, now on the Mighty Networks platform. Click here for more info and to find real tools to help you achieve your dreams. | | | Writing.ie is all about providing free resources to writers, at every stage of their career, and assisting you in promoting your work to a global audience. It’s vital to us that all the information and learning tools we publish are the best available, that we offer sound advice and that we are accessible to all – we are multi-award winning for a good reason. Remember Writing.ie is about all about reading, writing and you – we welcome your suggestions. | | |
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