It gives us immense pleasure to announce the launch of the 2016 IRISH IMBAS CELTIC MYTHOLOGY SHORT STORY COMPETITION .
Submissions will be accepted for this competition from 1 September 2016 to 10 December 2016.
This is the second year that we’re holding this competition and we’re coming into it a little wiser, a little less ambitious than the last time around but just as enthusiastic. Despite the almost overwhelming amount of work that went into it, the initial competition was a success (from our perspective, at least). Although this was a new and untested competition, we received a very respectable number of submissions, many of then of excellent quality. It was also particularly enjoyable to work with a number of new writers on the cusp of launching their writing careers. We’ll be watching their ongoing progress with interest and a certain satisfaction that we’ve helped that to some degree.
For us, a key objective of the competition was to try and increase the understanding of Celtic culture. We don’t really have any delusions that we’ve come anyway close to achieving that but we do feel we’ve made an important first step. By merging the creative short stories of the authors with our own cultural expertise, we’ve managed to release a free product that we’re exceptionally proud of and which fulfils the vision we established two years ago – cultural narratives that are entertaining and informative at the same time.
In terms of the 2016 competition details, we have made some minor changes (predominantly extending the word count to a maximum of 4000 words) but the value of the prizes are the same as last year.
First Prize
$500 and story published in Irish Imbas Celtic Mythology Collection
Second Prize
$250 and story published in Irish Imbas Celtic Mythology Collection
Third Prize
$100 and story published in Irish Imbas Celtic Mythology Collection
What We’re Looking For
Once again, any kind of fiction short story will be considered (action, romance, drama, humour etc.) as long as they meet the following criteria:
- Celtic mythology or folklore forms a fundamental element of the story (i.e. the characters can be characters from Celtic mythology, the action can take place in a mythological location, mythological concepts can be used etc.)
- Any Celtic folklore/mythological reference or context used should be as authentic as you can make it
- A compelling story/theme, engaging characters.
Next week, we’ll be publishing a blog post that summaries learnings from the judges that might prove useful to potential entrants. Otherwise, the necessary details can be found here at Rules and Conditions. Important dates to note are:
- Submissions will be accepted from midnight 1 September 2016
- Submissions close at midnight 10 December 2016
- The shortlist will be announced at irishimbasbooks.com and on the Irish Imbas Books Facebook page before 1 January 2017. An Irish Imbas Books Twitter account has also been set up and we hope to provide updates and commentary on that throughout the competition.
- Prize money will be paid to the authors of the three prize-winning stories in February 2017
- The Irish Imbas Celtic Mythology Collection will be released in March 2017.
