Kilkenny County Council Arts Office is delighted to announce the annual call for submissions for the twenty-fifth issue of the Kilkenny Poetry Broadsheet. This year is special as we celebrate 25 years of publications. To mark this milestone, the broadsheet will feature 25 poems, one for each year of publication. The Arts Office is busily planning an exciting launch to highlight the rich history and vibrant future of poetry in Kilkenny. We invite Kilkenny-based poets to submit their poems for consideration.
The aim of the publication is to give Kilkenny writers, born or based in Kilkenny, a platform for their work. We are thrilled to have Enda Wyley as this year’s editor. Last year, over sixty writers answered the call for submissions, sending in 110 poems for consideration. Thirteen poems were selected by Editor James Harpur for publication, and a further seven poets were shortlisted.
Following publication, the Broadsheet is available free throughout the city and county via the library branches and other venues. Poems will pop up in surprise locations within the city to celebrate 25 years! So keep an eye out!
Closing date for receipt of submissions is no later than 4pm on Friday 28th March 2025
Download the guidelines and application form here: BS Application Form 2025
Enda Wyley has published six collections of poetry with Dedalus Press: The Painter on his Bike (2019) Borrowed Space, New and Selected Poems, (2014), To Wake to This, (2009), Poems for Breakfast, ( 2004 ), Socrates in the Garden, (1998) and Eating Baby Jesus, (1993). A seventh collection is due in 2025. Awards include the Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize, Melbourne University and a Reading Association of Ireland Award. Her books for children from O’Brien Press, are Boo and Bear, I Won’t Go to China! and The Silver Notebook. Enda is a highly experienced teacher of poetry and has been a judge for several competitions, including the International Dublin Literary Award and Strokestown International Poetry Festival. Enda’s work has frequently been broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 and she he co-hosts the popular podcast Books for Breakfast, about books and writing. She is a member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of artists.
‘Enda Wyley is a true poet,’ The Irish Times
Full Day Workshop: Poetry, A Celebration
Date: Saturday 8th March
Time: 10.00am – 4.30pm
Location: Butler House, Kilkenny
Bookings: Email: deirdre.southey@kilkennycoco.ie or phone 056-7794547
Deadline for bookings: Monday 3rd March
Cost: €15
The Arts Office has organized with Broadsheet editor Enda Wyley to run a special full-day workshop prior to the poetry submission deadline. This will be a day to Celebrate through poetry the world that we live in with poet Enda Wyley and be guided in your own poetry writing. Content for the day will include encountering work by established poets, the value of enjoying poetry, prompts into writing, the power of imagery, poetry and form, the sonic and visual power of poetry, how to edit and improve a poem, and how to remain focused as readers and writers of it.
Participants will take away from this workshop an increased enthusiasm for poetry and a deeper understanding of the making of it. They will also feel encouraged and confident enough to keep writing and to continue to follow their own individual journey as emerging poets. Varied, interactive and fun – this one-day workshop will offer a positive, creative space for poetry to be truly celebrated.
