Adult Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions
The Allingham Festival 2026 Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions will soon be open!
Entries will be accepted from the opening date until midnight on Sunday, September 27th.
Entries must be accompanied by an application form in MS Word or PDF format.
Include the title of your story or poem and its page number(s) on all pages, but do not include your name or any other personal details. Personal information must appear only on the entry form.
Address: Allingham Poetry Competition OR Allingham Flash Fiction Competition, c/o A Novel Idea, Castle Street, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, Ireland F94 HK8W.
The following terms & conditions are for the Allingham Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions for adult writers who will be 18 or older by Saturday the 7th of November. The rules, entry forms and deadlines for Allingham Children’s Art and Writing Competitions are listed separately on this website.
Fiction:
Maximum 700 words per piece, not including titles.
Maximum 5 flash fiction 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 poems 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.)
The following entries will be deemed ineligible:
Entries 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.
Entries by 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.
The entry fee is €7 for each poem or flash fiction piece.
Most important: Create a separate doc or pdf file for each entry. Do not combine several entries into a single doc or pdf file.
Poetry and flash fiction competitions are separate events.
Entries to the two competitions must be made separately, submitting separate entry forms for the poetry competition and for the flash fiction competition.
For example, if you wish to submit one piece of flash fiction and three poems:
1. First fill out an entry form for flash fiction, upload your WORD or PDF document and submit the entry along with the fee.
2. Fill out a separate entry form for poetry, upload the poems (as three separate documents) and submit with fee.
Best of luck to all entrants!
