Writing Competition 2025
The 10th annual Write By The Sea Writing Competition is open until Friday 6th June 2025, 18:00 Irish Standard Time.
2025 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.
2025 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 2025.
All four winning pieces will be published in Issue 10 of The Waxed Lemon Literary Journal.
The runners-up in each category will receive €300 and third place will receive €200.
2025 Competition Timeline
- Saturday 8th March 2025 – submissions open through writebythesea.ie
- Friday 6th June 2025, competition closes at 18:00
- Friday 1st August 2025– shortlist of the winning entry titles will be posted on the WBTS website, writebythesea.ie
- Monday 1st September 2025 – winners will be notified by WBTS
- Each category winner will be invited to read their work at a public event as part of the festival.
- Winter 2025 the winning pieces will be published Issue 10 of The Waxed Lemon Literary Journal
Rules and Conditions
1.Entries must be the original work of the entrant and should not have been previously published in any format, online or print, self-published or paid.
2. Entries must be double-spaced in Microsoft Word, 12 point, Times New Roman font.
3. Do not include images or coloured fonts.
4. Files must be saved as .docx or .doc documents.
5. The name of the entrant should not appear anywhere in the document.
6. File names should be the same as the title of your piece. eg. title.docx.
7. Entrants can enter as many times as they wish at €10 per entry. Each file must only contain one piece.
8. Entrants may choose to enter 3 pieces, in the same or different categories for €25. Entrants must use the “Three Entries for €25” option. Each entry must be in separate file.
9. All entries must be in English.
10. Please check your work before you submit (see Note A below).
11. Entries must be submitted via the Online Entry Form on the Competition Page of the WBTS website, www.writebythesea.ie where entrants will upload their names and contact details.
12. Should your entry win a prize or be published elsewhere, please let us know so that we can remove it from the competition. Entry fees will not be returned if stories are withdrawn after entering.
13. The decision of the judges is final, no correspondence/contact will be entered into, and no feedback will be given to individual entrants.
Note A: It breaks our hearts when we have to disqualify entrants who break the rules. Sadly, each year we have to disqualify a significant number of the entries for disregarding simple rules such as not submitting text in double-spacing or including their names and addresses in the text of their submissions. Please remember to spell check and proofread your work. We look forward to receiving your entries and we wish you every success in the 2024 competition.
