This is the 4th year of the Schools Travel Writers competition sponsored by Aer Lingus. It is affiliated with the Lismore Travel Writers’ festival held in Lismore between June 12th and 16th (inclusive.) The prize for the winner is a Chromebook and an Amazon voucher worth 100 euro. Students need to write a 500 word “Letter to Home” about their favourite holiday or journey. The winning stories will be published in Cara, Aer Lingus’s inflight magazine. There are two categories – Junior Cert. and Leaving Cert. For more information please go to...

Cork City Libraries are hosting a competition again this year which invites 14 to 18 year olds to write and submit a short story. More information can be found on-line. Also, the writer John Boyne will be in town over Easter on April 24th. More information about that can be found by contacting eibhlin_cassidy@corkcity.ie. To enter the short story competition you’ll need a cover sheet. I can provide you with one of these or you can go on-line and print one off...

CloudofThink – 2018 Creative Writing Competition AND MORE! CATEGORIES for COMPETITION THEME: THE ONE AND THE MANY: THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE COMMUNITY OR HOW TO BE ALONE WITHOUT BEING LONELY. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING ALONE AND BEING LONELY? IS IT MORE DIFFICULT TO BE YOURSELF TODAY THAN IN THE PAST? HOW DOES A PERSON MAKE THEIR STAMP ON THE WORLD? WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CREATIVITY IN INDIVIDUALITY? CAN IT BE LONELY BEING ONESELF? Flash Fiction (50-250 words or between a quarter of an A4 page and a whole page)Short Story (500-2500 words or somewhere between two and ten pages)Poetry (unlimited but generally will fit in one page.) PRIZE DISTRIBUTION Winning entry in each category to be published on CloudofThink and also in Spioraid Signals at end of year. Book vouchers will be awarded too; the winner of each category get a €15 voucher for Waterstones.Runner-up entries in each category to be published only on CloudofThink. DEADLINE: MONDAY 25TH OF FEBRUARY IDEAS FOR MORE Is there time to invite a writer to the school? Could be done in conjunction with the launch of the competition. For example, Cork performance poet Billy Ramsell (very cool guy, worth looking up – if anyone could change a student’s mind about the value of poetry, it’s him). I believe Poetry Ireland has a fund for writers to visit schools (must be confirmed).Book Club Vibes and Scribes Wordsworth Classics (out of copyright). You can buy books that are out of copyright for very little in Vibes and Scribes. Bletchley Park idea:  a challenge on the website every week. Collaboration Book in teams, each team doing a different category. Social Media Reddit  – sub-reddits, different category: writing prompts. Opinion piecesPrinted anthology History of the school?WATA?...

Colaiste an Spioraid Naoimh has done very well in this competition and the Cloud wants to encourage pupils to write and submit entries for the 2017 Competition. It’s open to pupils aged between 14 and 18. There are no theme restrictions and submission should be between 1000 and 4000 words in length. The winner will be announced on World Book Festival during Teen Day on Wednesday, 19th April 2017 in the city library, Grand Parade. Each story must be accompanied by a cover sheet with the writer’s name, address, email address, telephone number, scho0l address, title of work and word count. (You can get a cover sheet from Mr Cooney or Ms Cahalane.) First prize is €200 and there are two runners-up prizes of €50. You can also contact Eiblin Cassidy at eibhlin_cassidy@corkcity.ie Best of...

There once was a man called William Cuthbert Faulkner, whose writing was almost as deep and meaningful as his moustache. He was a man who liked to say things as they were, with no frilly bits thrown in to make it sound more interesting. He just smoked a pipe to give himself some much-needed gravitas instead. Faulkner dealt in the simple facts of life. This was one of them: “If a story is in you, it has got to come out.” Now, Faulkner lived way back in the first half of the 20th century when things like meaningful moustaches and pipe-smoking were commonplace. Some might claim that he would be thoroughly out of place today. But his writing is relevant even now, and Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh’s first Flash Fiction Competition for 1st Years has proven that. When we launched this competition, we knew that there was a story in each and every 1st Year, even if they didn’t know it themselves. Our job, on behalf of the moustachioed Faulkner, was to find away to “get it to come out”. And to our delight, the response to the competition was overwhelming. We received over two dozen excellent submissions in total, all of an exceptionally high quality, across a wonderfully wide range of themes and genres from clowns to inept house burglars, from malicious Weetabix to stranded children. It was a joy and a privilege to read them all, and a great challenge to decide on the three best. In the end, though, the decision was finally made. The three prize-winning stories are available to read on this very website. But it wouldn’t be right to just leave the competition with such an abrupt end as that. At CloudofThink, we encourage both writing and learning. The great thing...

Hi, John here, and before you start asking questions, yes, I am the John that got stranded on the islands, and if you didn’t hear about it, turn on your TV! Everywhere I go it’s like, “Oh you’re the poor little boy that got stranded on that island-” No old lady I didn’t get stranded, I got ditched, by whom you ask… MY MOM, and, as you can clearly already see, my mom’s not very nice. My mom never really liked me so this was her big chance to get rid of her underachieving son all because she wanted a...

I swerved onto 56th Avenue and continued driving towards the inner city. I worked for the Boston Police Department and was heading to intercept a car that had been called in over the radio. It was five A.M., still dark. My lights cut through the inky darkness. Traffic increasing, I turned on the sirens to clear a path. There it was, speeding along the street in front of me. I was gaining quickly. Suddenly a large item came flying from the car, hitting the road. Too late to avoid it, I hit it head on. My world flipped upside...

My mum sent me to my room. I was furious at what she had said. I banged my bedroom door so hard the whole house shook. The weird thing was, the house didn’t stop shaking. It grew stronger and stronger until I slipped and banged my head. I woke up in a completely different room. I called for my mum but there was no answer. I slowly got up, the pain in my head increasing. I walked to the door and opened it. I looked out. Instead of my boring corridor I was on the verge of a rugged...

Flash Fiction is writing for people who like to do other things. But you can do a lot with a little. We think that by choosing the right words and by putting them in the right order, real magic can be achieved. We’re looking for First Years who would like to write some Flash Fiction just for the fun of it. You might be wondering what Flash Fiction looks like. Well, just log on to cloudofthink.ie and type in Flash Fiction in the search box in the top right-hand corner to see some examples. Do you think you could write a story in fewer than a hundred words? We’d love to read it if you do. Email your entry to cloudofthink@gmail.com and make sure to put your name and the words “Flash Fiction” in the subject box. This competition is open only to first years. The prize for the winner is €25; second prize is €15; third prize is €10. The winning entries will be posted on cloudofthink.ie and will be reviewed by several of the best writers in the school. The closing date is  Thursday, October 6th 2016. Here are some tips: Try to create an interesting character; Don’t be afraid to rewrite your work; Try to create pictures the reader can enjoy; Don’t explain everything – let the reader do some of the work; Model your story on stories you’ve heard; Think about different kinds of stories: detective stories; romantic stories; war stories; mysteries; ghost stories; funny stories; action adventures; thrillers; silly stories. Remember, you can base your story on truth if you...

Competition is open to second-level students from the 32 counties of Ireland. Each student can enter one poem of any length. The poem must be the pupil’s own work. There are two sections to the competiton: Section A: under 15s Section B: 15 years and over. Themes can include (but are not exclusive to): (a) Childhood ; memories; growing up; (b) Seasons; Environment; Nature; (c) Home; Family; Friendship; (d) Celebrity; Fashion; Pop culture; Politics; (e) Happiness; Hope; Laughter; (f) Warmth; Smiles; Fun; Entries will be professionally adjudicated. The closing date for receipt of entries is Friday, 27th May 2016 at 4 pm Winners will receive the following prizes: Section A: 1st prize – €75; 2nd prize – €50; 3rd prize – €35 Section B: 1st prize – €100; 2nd prize – €75; 3rd prize – €50 Each entry must be accompanied by an entry form by the student and countersigned by his or her English teacher. No personal details should appear on the same page as the poem. Winning schools and students will be notified of results by Friday, 9th September, 2016 Presentation of this year’s certificates and prizes will be held on the afternoon on Sunday, 2nd October, 2016 in the Patrick Kavanagh Centre, Inniskean. Winning schools will be given notice of same. (The annual Patrick Kavanagh Weekend takes place as usual in Inniskean from Friday 30th September to Sunday 2nd October 2016. entry and enquiries to: Student poetry competition, Patrick Kavanagh Centre, Inniskean, Co. Monaghan....

You could win €2,000! Create a short video clip, audio clip, news article or poster on one of these themes: What are the hidden harms of alcohol use? 2. What are the effects of drug use? Age categories are: 12-14; 15-17; 18-21; 22-25 Deadline is March 31st, 2016. For details on how to enter, visit drugs.ie/awards. For information, email...

Two cities, One book: A Story of Ireland is a Hot Press initiative to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising. Dublin and Belfast will partner in Dublin City Council’s Two Cities One Book Festival, based on the chosen book, Fallen by Lia Mills published by Penguin. To coincide with the Festival, and as a key part of the national commemorations, Hot Press and Dublin City libraries, in association with Libraries NI and with the support of the Ireland 2016 office, are planning a major all-Ireland writing competition. It will aim to uncover the best new young writing talent in the country while also drawing the attention of people all over Ireland to Fallen, to the themes in the book and to the Two Cities, One Book programme of events. Category 1 is reserved for secondary level pupils; there will be one male winner and one female winner. Each winner will be invited to to a two-week internship at Hot Press. Better hurry though, because the closing date is February 19, 2016. For more information please contact Louise or Sara on 01 2411500 or email Louise at louise@hotpress.ie or Sarah at...

Cork City Libraries celebrate the emerging writer by inviting teenagers aged 14-18 years of age to enter the Cork City Libraries Short Story Competition. There are no theme restrictions, and entries should be between 1,000 and 4,000 words. Those short-listed will receive a written critique of their work by local writer Kevin Doyle. The winner will be announced as part of World Book Festival during Teen Day on Wednesday, 20 April 2016, in the city library, Grand Parade. Each story should be accompanied by a cover sheet with the writer’s name, address, email address, telephone number, school address, title of piece and word count. Contact: eibhlin_cassidy@corkcity.ie First prize is €200; second and third prizes are...

A Poem for Ireland competition offers a first prize of €1,000; second prize of €500 and a third prize of €250. All national finalists get €50. The closing date for entries is 29 February, 2016. For full entry conditions see www.LibrariesIreland.ie This is being run by the Department of Education and Skills, the public library service and Libraries Development, Local Government Management Agency. Round One: Poems must be original works and on the theme of Ireland, past and present. Further information is available at...

Learn how to: Present your own radio shows; DJ like a pro; Record a vox pop; Edit and produce your own music/jingles; Develop your public speaking; Get a certificate and portfolio of all your work. Places cost €175 and are for 14-17 year olds June and July 2015 Monday to Friday from 12.00 til 17.00 pm For more information, contact: radiocamp@ucc.ie or ring Kieran Hurley on 021...

Here’s your chance to write one of 40 short stories that will be chosen by UCC 98.3 FM to be professionally recorded and broadcast on radio. Closing date is September 30th 2015. 1st prize: €300 2nd prize: €200 3rd prize:€100 For more information carriedinwaves@ucc.ie See twitter...

The University of Limerick’s Regional Writing Centre is holding its fourth annual national essay-writing competition for 4th, 5th and 6th-year pupils. What’s required is an 800-1000 word essay on the following: “Despite her youth, Malala Youssafzai has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations.” In response, one must make reference to the role that young people play in Irish society today. Deadline for entries is Friday, February 27th 2015. Prizes will be announced on Tuesday, 27th May, 2015. For further information, go to...

CSN wants to celebrate 50 years in existence by offering our pupils €30 prizes for each of five categories in an art competition as follows: 1. Short story (any subject) 2. Book review (any book) 3. Poetry (any subject) 4. Literacy poster on the theme of “Reading” 5. Bookmark on the theme of “CSN is 50” Candidates are invited to e-mail entries for the FIRST THREE CATEGORIES to cloudofthink@gmail.com or hand them in to the library. Entries should carry the title “50 years of CSN.” Entries for CATEGORIES 4 AND 5 must be given by hand to Mr Cooney or Ms O’Sullivan in the library. The closing date is Tuesday 18th November 2014    ...