Ring of Culture Turns One, and Writers Should Take Notice
There are never enough places for writers to put their work. Not just places to submit it, but places genuinely interested in giving new and emerging writers a chance to be read, heard and talked about.
That is why I wanted to give a quick mention to Ring of Culture, which celebrates its first birthday tonight.
Founded by author and publisher Vítor Vicente, Ring of Culture has grown into a cultural platform covering books, publishing, translation, workshops, podcasts and live events. In a relatively short space of time, it has already been involved with literary events and organisations in Ireland and further afield.
For writers, one of the most interesting parts of what they are building is Witty Wicklow Writers Magazine.
Their first international writing competition invited poetry, short fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction, flash fiction and hybrid work, with the Top 10 being published in the first issue of the magazine. The competition itself has been featured by Poetry Ireland and Writing.ie, and Ring of Culture describes the magazine as a place for both emerging and established voices.
Tonight, Thursday 10 September at 8.30 p.m. Irish time, Ring of Culture will mark its first year with a livestream and announce the Witty Wicklow Writers Issue #1 Top 10 and prize winners.
I have no idea what names will be called out tonight, but I do think what is being built here is worth keeping an eye on.
Writing can be a fairly lonely business. Any new platform willing to create another stage for writers, particularly one that is looking beyond the usual boundaries and trying to connect writers through publication, conversation and events, is something I am happy to see.
So happy first birthday to Ring of Culture, and good luck to everyone waiting on tonight's results.
You can watch the livestream here