Shortlists Announced for the 2026 Allingham Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions

We had a huge number of entries to both the Flash Fiction and Poetry competitions. The judges have been hard at work reading all the entries, and now they are ready to share the shortlists in each category. Congratulations to all, and best of luck to all the finalists!

First, Second and Third Place winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 7 November at 1:00 pm in Dorrian’s Hotel, Ballyshannon. Winning entries will be posted on the Allingham Art Festival website www.allinghamfestival.com

The Flash Fiction Shortlist

A Half Packed Life – Claire Keogh

An cailleach dhubh – Jane Breen

A Boyhood of Brief Enthusiasms – Chris Cottom

Department of Impossibilities – Chris Cottom

Sean McNicholl – Everyone Knows

Losing It All – Kathryn Crowley

Maha Kalpa – Deborah Templeton

Ownership – Caroline Jenner

The Steadfast Soldier – Norman Thomson

Unwinding – Sean McNicholl

The Poetry Shortlist

A terrible devastation – David Simpson

An Offering – Kathy Donaghy

Clay – Eileen Casey

Duration – Anni Wilton-Jones

In Commemoration of Francis Harvey – Anna Calhoun

No Longer a Headline – Paddy Donoghue

Nothing Said – Kenneth Somerville

Rust Lesson – John Goode

Sea Ghosts of Sorts – Loretta Fahy

The Women Who Were Never Farmers – Jenny Abbott

Unravelling – Breda Joyce

We should have been killed – Rhona Trench

What was Buried – Ger Duffy

Winged Like Hermes – Caitriona Lane

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