riting Competition 2026

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 Full details

2026 Competition Categories

There are four competition categories:

1. Fiction Short Story (maximum 2,500 words)
2. Flash Fiction (maximum 700 words) 
3. Poetry (maximum 40 lines)
4. Memoir/Personal Essay (maximum 1,000 words)

The independent panel of judges will select the winners and each category winner will be invited to read from their work at a public event as part of the festival.

2026 Competition Prizes

The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of €500 and a free weekend pass to the Write By The Sea Festival 2026.

All four winning pieces will be published in Issue 12 of The Waxed Lemon Literary Journal.

The runners-up in each category will receive €300, and third place will receive €200.

2026 Competition Timeline

  1. Friday 3rd April 2026 – submissions open through writebythesea.ie
  2. Sunday 7th June 2026, competition closes at 18:00
  3. Sunday 9th August 2026– shortlist of the winning entry titles will be posted on the WBTS website, writebythesea.ie
  4. Tuesday 8th September 2026 – winners announced.
  5. First place winners will be invited to read their work at the 2026 Write By The Sea Festival.
  6. Winter 2026 the first place winning pieces will be published Issue 12 of The Waxed Lemon Literary Journal

 

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