Mullingar Literary Festival organisers seeking a surprise

Mullingar Literary Festival has put out calls for their first public engagement of 2026. The tendrils of the artistic endeavour are beginning to emerge and the organisers are seeking aspiring writers to surprise them.

For three day in July, writers, poets, historians and musicians will gather in the county town for a celebration of storytelling and connection, and this week festival organisers have announced the launch of its annual writing competition.

The invitation goes out to writers of poetry and prose alike to submit their best poem or story that contains an element of surprise.

The inaugural competition will be judged by local authors, Chele Crawley, author of Lady Dixon’s Niece (see separate story), and Jeanette Everson, aka Jinny Alexander, author of The Jess O’Malley Irish Village Mysteries series, Mrs Smith’s Suspects, a mystery series based in a small English town, and Don’t Squeeze the Turtle.

This year’s competition organisers are encouraging entrants to write a piece with an unexpected twist or an imaginative turn. “People love surprises, readers love surprises, and so do we as authors,” says Chele Crawley.

“The title need not include the word ‘surprise’, but there must be an element of it in the submission. We want entrants to surprise us or recall a situation that contained an element of the unforeseen. Whether that’s a poem about a surprise 50th celebration, a moment that caught them off guard, or a story that has a dark twist, we can’t wait to read it,” Chele said.

The competition runs until midnight on Friday June 5 and is offering the chance for poets and writers to win a prize of €150, as well as the opportunity to read their work at this year’s Mullingar Literary Festival. The winners of both categories will be publicly announced on Sunday July 5.

The theme is Surprise, the maximum word count is 1,500 words for prose/short story or 40 lines for poetry.

Entrants must be over 18 years of age, and submissions can be made at www.mullingarliteraryfestival.com/adult-writing-competitions/ at a cost of €5 per entry.

Mullingar Literary Festival takes place on July 3, 4 and 5.