An animation artist, a former sports therapist, a retired real estate agent and a social worker were among finalists in our Wild Atlantic Writing Awards (WAWA) on the theme of ‘secrets.’ Their backgrounds, experiences and unique views of life helped them create stories we hope will inspire you. Dara Griffin Pancakes may not seem like the sexiest of subjects for a good story but Dara Griffin made them so and won a finalist spot in the flash fiction category with her story si

Settle back, have a drink and meet writers, Jane Gormley from the Republic of Ireland and Martin Barker from the south coast of England who won our latest ‘Wild Atlantic Writing Awards’ (WAWA) on the theme of ‘Power.’ Both writers win 500 euro in cash or a 1,000 euro discount to any of our week-long international writing retreats in France, Ireland or the UK. Jane Gomley Jane, born in Dublin, grew up in Wicklow and now lives on a farm in Allenwood, Kildare that has been in he

After announcing last week, the results of our ‘Wild Atlantic Writing Awards’ (WAWA) creative nonfiction competition on the theme of ‘power,’ we’re delighted now to announce the finalists and winner of the flash fiction category. As we did with the creative nonfiction category, we also asked a member of our judging panel to sum up the flash fiction entries as a whole and the overall nature of stories submitted. We hope this provides a comprehensive overview of the entries and

Stories in our latest ‘Wild Atlantic Writing Awards’ (WAWA) on the theme of ‘power’ proved to be both wide-ranging in terms of characters, plot and location, as well as highly engaging as reading entertainment. We at ‘Ireland Writing Retreat’ want to thank each and every person who submitted a story. It takes both discipline and emotional and intellectual energy to complete any story, and bravery to show it to someone else for judgement. In this respect, you are all winners

A software developer from Kent, a pharmacist from Cork and a publisher from New Jersey all featured as finalists in the ‘Wild Atlantic Writing Awards’ (WAWA) competition on the theme of ‘Endings.’ Meanwhile, our latest writing competition on the theme of ‘Power’ has just closed and stories have been sent to the judges, so make sure you become a Friend of the retreat (it’s free) to be the first to learn who the winners and finalists are. But right now we’d like to put the spo

‘You’re the man, but I got the, I got the, I got the power You make rain, but I'll make it, I'll make it, I'll make it shower You should know, I'm the one who's in control I'll let you come take the wheel, 'long as you don't forget, yeah, yeah.’ Who got the power? I got the, I got the power.' These verses are from a snappy hit song entitled simply ‘ Power ’ by a group called Little Mix. This is also the theme of our next Wild Atlantic Writing Awards (WAWA) with a deadline

Living in Marino, a suburb of Dublin, close to where Bram Stoker, author of the well-known Gothic vampire novel, ‘Dracula,’ grew up and lived, it should come as no surprise Patricia Wall is an accomplished writer. In fact, we’re proud to introduce Patricia to you as the winner of our ‘ Wild Atlantic Writing Awards ’ flash fiction category on the theme of ‘ secrets ’ with her impressive story, ‘ Writing Material .’ Married to Stephen and mother to four-year-old daughter, Heat

Creative nonfiction finalists and winner announced on theme of 'secrets' Sex in one way or another was a key subject in many of the stories submitted for the creative nonfiction category of our ‘Wild Atlantic Writing Awards’ on the theme of ‘secrets.’ From a clandestine love affair to erotic literature, from herpes to an undercover policeman posing as a prostitute. Why sex? Good question. Let’s delve into sex in literature a little. First of all, sex is considered ‘the forbid

Flash Fiction finalists and winner announced on theme of 'secrets' Fortune-telling, murder, love affairs, roaming ghosts, a wily bird, authors, organ donations, photographs, even tattoos and silver earrings - such were some of the topics in stories submitted for our Wild Atlantic Writing Awards (WAWA) on the theme of ‘ secrets .’ Wanna know a secret? Some stories were filled with angst, others with surprise and still others with intriguing drama and poignancy. There was also

Danger often wears many disguises: a gunman on the loose hiding in a hotel, the fury of white-water rapids or the smile of a stranger on a lonely roadside. Three writers, Kathy Judge, Brenda Lightle and Judy Holm, used such varied scenarios to create their stories and become finalists in our Wild Atlantic Writing Awards (WAWA) competition on the theme of ‘danger.’ Brenda Lightle A stranger’s kindness can sometimes hide menace. For Brenda Lightle who lives near Seattle, it s

A Canadian woman who survived an experimental bone marrow transplant, an Austrian researcher who studied polar bears and penguins, a retired British-born librarian who gained his university degree in his 60s and a new first-time mother and English teacher from a small town in Ohio. Meet Margaret Lynch, Viktoria Valenta, David Kipling and Maggie Thomas, all finalists in our ‘ Wild Atlantic Writing Awards ’ competition on the theme of ‘ Danger .’ And for those interested in exc

Meet Julia James Burns , who once lived on an exotic island in the Indian Ocean and VJ Bauer , a proud great-grandfather - winners of our...

You could win the next WAWA competition . It's on the theme of 'secrets.' Secrets mean many things to many people but one thing is...

Murder, love, family break-up, abortion, dementia, revenge, depression, even ghosts and moonwalking - these were some of the diverse...

Many were sad, some bittersweet, others held a hint of humor. Still others, hope. With the theme being ‘ endings ,’ it was only natural...

A retired clinical biochemist in Dublin, a freelance journalist in Belfast, a poet in Oxford and a pharmacist in Cork are among ....

What we fear and love, sometimes in equal measure, are endings. But unbeknownst to us, endings arrive often in the guise of beginnings,...

Illustrating the sheer diversity of people entering our Wild Atlantic Writing Awards (WAWA) , we proudly introduce Shelley Arnfield , a...

WAWA Winners Plus A Chance To Choose Our Next Competition

While hundreds of stories we've received for the latest Wild Atlantic Writing Awards (WAWA) competition on the theme of ‘danger’ are...