For more information about the Awards and how to enter, visit: https://belfastbookfestival.com/mairtin-crawford-award

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 Both published and unpublished writers are invited to submit between 3-5 poems for the poetry award, and a short story of up to 2,500 words for the short story award, with the only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.

For the 2021 Awards, the Winner for each Award will receive a Cash Prize of £1,000 and a 5-night stay at the wonderful writing and reading retreat The River Mill. The Runner-Up’s for each Award will be awarded a cash prize at a value of £250. 

We are delighted to announce that the judges of the 2021 Mairtín Crawford Award are Lucy Caldwell (Chair - Short Story) and Moyra Donaldson (Chair - Poetry). Guest judges for both Awards will be announced in due course.  

A big thank you to our partners and sponsors NIPR, the National Collection of Northern Ireland Publications, and The River Mill, for their continued support of the Awards.