Howl

What We're Looking For​​

 

HOWL New Irish Writing is a biennial print publication showcasing the creative wail in Irish writing from around the world. We want the raw and the real. If it excites you, we want you to send it to us.

 

We are open for submissions of poetry and prose (fiction and nonfiction) from February 13th - February 23rd 2026. We would love to read your work​​.

 

If you would like to read what we have published previously, there are limited copies of HOWL 22, HOWL 23, and HOWL 24 available online, at your local library, and in most bookshops nationwide including:

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Hewson Books—Brentford, No Alibis Bookshop—Belfast, Waterstones—Cork, Hodges Figgis—Dublin, MoLI—Dublin, Books Upstairs—Dublin, The Library Project Temple Bar—Dublin, The Winding Stair Bookshop—Dublin, Raven Books—Dublin, Dubray Books—Nationwide, Charlie Byrne's Bookshop—Galway, Bell Book & Candle—Galway, & Carrigaline Bookshop—Cork.​​

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How to Submit

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1. Read the guidelines and notes below.

2. Fill out the submission form (available here from Feb 13th).

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Guidelines

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• Poetry and prose can be as long as they need to be. 

• Fáiltímid roimh obair as Gaeilge.

• Send us your unpublished work: up to three poems OR one piece of fiction OR one piece of nonfiction.

  • Please submit in only one category. 

  • Please submit work in either Irish or English (not both).

• Poetry submissions can contain up to three poems in a single document, with each poem beginning on a new page.

• Please submit in .doc or .docx whenever possible. Only use .pdf when special formatting needs to be preserved.

  • File types accepted: .doc, .docx, .txt, .rtf, .pdf.​

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Notes

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• Submissions are open from February 13th - February 23rd 2026.

• Unfortunately, we cannot offer payment for accepted submissions at this time. We are working hard to change this.

• We will send a print copy of the final publication to all contributors published in HOWL 26.

• We nominate writers published in HOWL for the Pushcart Prize and the Forward Prize for Poetry.

• While not guaranteed, contributors published in HOWL are regularly invited to represent the publication at launches, festival events, and literary projects, both paid and unpaid.

• We are happy to accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere so we can congratulate you!

• Although submitted work may be as long as it needs to be, there are significantly fewer opportunities for us to publish longer stories (over 3,500 words) or poems exceeding 60 lines.

• We are unable to accept novel excerpts at this time.

• We can only accept submissions through our online submission form. Unfortunately, we cannot accept submissions via email or post.

• We ask for first publishing rights for any selected pieces, and additionally to post select pieces on our website. This means that the piece (poem, prose) must not have been published before in a print or online publication (we don't mind about social media).

• Editors may offer editorial feedback on a small number of accepted submissions.

• As much as we would like to, we are unable to provide feedback on work we decline. 

• Submissions must be the original work of a human author. Work written, generated, or materially assisted by artificial intelligence tools is not eligible.

• Copyright remains with the original author/artist at all times. 

• We aim to make all final selections by the end of June, 2026.

• If you have any questions you are welcome to contact us at: howlwriting@gmail.com ​​

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SUBMIT​

 

Please only submit once, in one category (poetry, fiction, or nonfiction). If work is submitted in more than one category, or work is submitted both in English and as Gaeilge, only the first submission will be considered.

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• Submit work in English (available here from Feb 13th)

• Submit work as Gaeilge (available here from Feb 13th)

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