Trim Poetry Festival 2020

Trim Poetry Festival 2020, organized by Boyne Writers Group, will take place on Friday and Saturday,13 and 14 March 2020. A poetry competition is being held in conjunction with the festival. Entries closed on February 12. A shortlist will be posted here towards the end of February 2020.

Programme

Friday 13 March

7.30pm: Launch by Trim writer, Pat Dunne, of Boyne Berries 27 and of Trim Poetry Festival 2020. Readings by contributors.

Tea & Coffee

Reading by Pat Dunne.

Pat Dunne, born in Trim, Co. Meath, is an internationally successful crime writer. Dunne studied English and Philosophy at UCD and worked as Press Officer for Bord na gCapall before joining RTÉ Radio where he produced the station’s flagship Gerry Ryan Show. He retired in 2004 to become a full-time writer. Meath’s history and heritage feature prominently in his archaeological thrillers. Dunne is also a regular contributor to Sunday Miscellany on RTÉ Radio 1 and lives in Celbridge, Co. Kildare, with his wife Theckla.    .

Saturday 14 March

10.00 – 12.30: 
Poetry Workshop with festival poet in residence, Anne Tannam. Cost per person, 20 euro.
Book by PayPal link on the right. 

Anne Tannam is a Dublin poet with two collections: Tides Shifting Across My Sitting Room Floor (Salmon Poetry 2017) and Take This Life (WordOnTheStreet 2011). A spoken word artist, Anne has performed at festivals and events in Ireland and abroad. She is co-founder of the weekly Dublin Writers’ Forum and regularly runs literary events across Dublin. Check her website.

2.30 – 4.30: Anne Tannam individual coaching clinics. These 30 minute sessions will provide support and expert advice around whatever issue or challenge is facing you in your writing practice. Use the Book an Anne Tannam Individual Clinic Session link on the right to book a clinic.  

2.30 – 4.30: Readings by local Writers Groups and Open Mic. 

5.00 – 6.00: Trim Poetry Competition Results. Winner and runners-up announced. First prize €500. Two runners up prizes of €100 each. All shortlisted poets are invited to read.

7.00 – 7.30: Poetry reading by Anne Tannam.

7.30 – 8.00: Tea/Coffee break.

8.00 – 9.30: Launch of “Troubles” a new poetry collection by Boyne Writers member Michael Farry. Launch by Anne Tannam.

Trim Poetry Competition 2020

Competition Rules

This competition closed on 12 February 2020. A shortlist will be published before the end of February.

Entries are only accepted online by email to this address: trimpoetry@gmail.com

Competitors pay by PayPal on this blog on the right. Entry fee: one poem for 5 euro, three poems for 10 euro.

The poem/poems to be entered must be sent as a single attachment. The body of the email must include the PayPal transaction number, the entrant's name, address, phone number, and title/titles of the entered poems.

The poems should be in Times New Roman, 12 point, single spacing and must not exceed 60 lines (excluding title and stanza breaks). The name of the entrant must not appear on the poems themselves. All poems must be the original work of the entrant, written in English. Poems must not have been previously published, self-published or published on a website, or broadcast. Entrants must be 18 years or over.

All poems are judged completely anonymously, and judges read all entries. The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence can be entered into regarding those decisions. Current members of Boyne Writers Group are not eligible to enter.

The judges are: Orla Fay, editor of Boyne Berries, and Michael Farry, former editor of Boyne Berries.

The judges’ shortlist of ten will be announced towards the end of February 2019 and included on this blog. Shortlisted poets only will be notified by email and invited to read their poems at Trim Poetry Festival, Co. Meath, Ireland, on Saturday afternoon 14 March 2020. 

The prize for the winner is 500 euro.  Two runners-up will recieve 100 euro each. 

The prize-winner of the competition will be announced during the festival. The winner and the other short-listed poems will be published in Boyne Berries 27 which will be launched on Friday 13 March 2020..

Submission of a poem implies the competitor’s acceptance of the conditions set out above.