Each year as part of the Belfast Book Festival, we run the Mairtin Crawford Awards for Poetry and Short Story.

The Awards are in honor of the writer and poet who was a significant figure in Northern Ireland's literary community.

Click here for more details about the Awards, and to discover past winners. 

The Awards are aimed at writers working towards their first full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel. Both published and unpublished writers are invited to submit between 3-5 poems for the poetry award, and a short story of up to 2,500 words for the short story award, with the only stipulation being that they have not yet published a full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel.

The submission window for the 2026 Awards will open in January 2026.  

The Winner of each Award will receive a £500 cash Prize. In addition, each Winner can take up time a ‘Time to Write’ package which includes a 3-night stay at a Hotel in Belfast, and 4 days of dedicated writing space in The Crescent. TwoRunners Up for each Category will receive a £250 cash prize.

The 2025 Awards were supported by Johns Elliot Solicitors and No Alibis Bookstore. Johns Elliot Solicitors investment in the Mairtín Crawford Awards is supported by the Arts & Business NI Investment Programme.