Competition deadline: 27th September 2026
The Allingham Festival 2026 Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions are now open!
First Prize in both Flash Fiction and Poetry is €300.
Winners will be invited to read their winning entries at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday November the 7th 2026 as part of the Allingham Arts Festival programme of events.
Allingham Festival Competitions Rules
Fiction
Maximum 700 words per piece, not including titles
Maximum 5 pieces per entrant
Font: 12pt Arial or Times New Roman
2 cm margins on A4 pages
1.5 or double-spacing
Include title, page number and total page count on each page (e.g. ‘My Story’, Page 1 of 3, ‘My Story’ Page 2 of 3, etc.)Poetry
Maximum 40 lines per poem, not including titles
Maximum 5 pieces per entrant
Formatting, including spacing, is at the discretion of the poet
Include title, page number and total page count on each page (e.g. ‘My Poem’, Page 1 of 3, ‘My Poem’ Page 2 of 3, etc.)Ineligibility for Allingham Festival Competitions
The following entries will be deemed ineligible:
Entries to the Allingham Festival Competitions which have been published elsewhere (online, digital, or in print) or which are declared first-place winners in other writing competitions before 4 November 2026.
Entries by First-place winners of 2024 and 2025 Allingham Poetry or Flash Fiction Competitions.
Members of the 2026 Allingham Festival Organising Committee and their immediate families.
Entries in languages other than English.
Handwritten entries.Judges’ decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the shortlist or the winners.
Entries will not be returned.
Entries can be submitted on-line or by post. The deadline for receipt of both postal and on-line entries is 23:59 on Sunday, 27 September 2026.
Entry Fee
The entry fee is €7 for each poem or flash fiction piece.
Submit your online entry here and see here for further information.
See more competitions on Writing.ie here.
