Noelle Vial Tyrone Guthrie Centre Poetry Bursary

Noelle Vial

The 13th Annual Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks Festival is celebrating the memory of Killybegs poet Noelle Vial with the creation of a poetry bursary in her name. The bursary, which is being offered in association with members of the poet's family, will take the form of a week-long stay at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig, Newbliss, County Monaghan, and will be known as the Noelle Vial Tyrone Guthrie Centre Poetry Bursary.

The bursary is aimed at an emerging poet, writing in English or Irish or both, who will be at a particular point in the development of their writing careers. That is, their work will already have been featured in a selection of established poetry publications, magazines, anthologies, etc., and they will now be at the point of preparing a debut or a second collection for submission to publishers. The sojourn at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre is designed to provide them with the time and space to refine and collate their work. The bursary is open to poets living and working in Donegal, as well as to Donegal-born writers who may currently be based outside the county.

Poets wishing to be considered for the bursary are invited to submit 6 to 10 samples of recent work, their CV which will include a record of publication of work to date, and an Artist's Statement of not more than 200 words, outlining how and why a stay at the Tyrine Guthrie Centre would assist their development as a writer.

Submissions should be forwarded to the Noelle Vial Tyrone Guthrie Centre Poetry Bursary, Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks Festival, c/o Donegal County Library, Rosemount, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, no later than 5.00pm on Wednesday 18th September 2013. Submissions may also be emailed to traolach@donegalcoco.ie.

The winner of the inaugural Noelle Vial Tyrone Guthrie Centre Poetry Bursary will be announced on Friday 27th September 2013.