Are you between 15 and 17 years old and would you love to be a writer some day? Or, are you already one? Applications are now open for the Edna O’Brien Young Writers Bursary 2023.

MoLI offers an annual five-day, immersive, blended learning experience to 15 talented students around Ireland. This year’s Edna O’Brien Young Writers Bursary will take place from 17th – 21st July, 2023.

Throughout the programme, participants are mentored through a creative writing project by one of Ireland’s leading writers and meet with publishers, authors, literature academics and fellow writing enthusiasts. This year’s mentor is Jessica Traynor, an award-winning poet, essayist, librettist, and poetry editor at Banshee. Her debut collection, Liffey Swim (Dedalus Press, 2014), was shortlisted for the Strong/Shine Award. The Quick (Dedalus Press, 2018) was an Irish Times book of the year. Pit Lullabies (Bloodaxe, 2022) is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. She is a Creative Fellow of UCD, and 2023 Arts Council Writer in Residence in Galway University. She is a judge for the 2023 Forward Prizes and a poetry critic for The Irish Times.

The Edna O’Brien Young Writers Bursary welcomes applications from young writers from all over Ireland, and actively encourages applications from a diversity of ethnic and/or cultural groups including, but not limited to, Asian, Black, Traveller and minority ethnic, refugees, people with disabilities, working-class and LGBTQI+.

We are not looking for polished, finished pieces of writing, or writers with large amounts of experience. We are interested in hearing about you, your passion and your creativity.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday, 7th March at 10pm.

See link below for further details.