martin crawford award
The Mairtín Crawford Award
The Belfast Book Festival is proud to present the annual Mairtín Crawford Awards for Poetry and for Short Story 2019.
The Awards are aimed at writers working towards their first full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel. Both published and unpublished writers are invited to submit between 3-5 poems for the poetry award, and a short story of up to 2,500 words for the short story award, with the only stipulation being that they have not yet published a full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel.
The submission window has now closed and the winners of the awards will be announced on Saturday 15th June. Click here for more information.
The winner of each award will receive a cash prize of £500 and a three-night stay at Co Down writing retreat, The River Mill. The winning writers will also receive advice from editors of The Tangerine to work towards publication in the magazine. The prize winners will also be invited to read at the award ceremony at the Belfast Book Festival 2019.
The judging panel for The Mairtín Crawford Poetry Award will be headed by Mairtín's friend and contemporary, renowned poet Moyra Donaldson along with esteemed poets Paul Maddern and Matt Kirkham. The Mairtín Crawford Short Story Award will be judged by Belfast-based short story writer Wendy Erskine.
The 2018 winner of the Mairtín Crawford Poetry Award Milena Williamson had this to say of the Award:
"When I won the Mairtín Crawford Poetry Award it provided me with the support I needed to grow as a poet. At the time, I had just finished my Masters degree and I felt like I was at a crossroads, unsure of what to do next with my poetry and myself. After winning the award, I felt recognised by Belfast's literary community, and this allowed me to better see myself as an emerging poet. Spending time at The River Mill was an incredible opportunity, I edited my poetry, read a few of the many books in the house, and formed friendships with other writers."