Competition
Open
3w left
Open globally
The Moth Nature Writing Prize 2026/2027
The Moth Magazine
Starting an application unlocks tasks, requirements, notes, and deadline reminders.
Funding amount
1st Prize: €1,000 + one-week residency at The Moth Retreat.
2nd Prize: €500.
3rd Prize: €250.
Publication in The Irish Times online
Deadline
September 30, 2026
Level
Mid Career
Early Career
Other
What's covered
Prize
Publication
Global Recognition
About this opportunity
The Moth Nature Writing Prize is an annual international literary competition that celebrates exceptional nature writing. The prize recognizes unpublished poetry and prose that explore the writer's relationship with the natural world through outstanding literary craftsmanship. Winners receive cash prizes, a writing retreat, and publication in The Irish Times online. The competition is judged anonymously each year by a distinguished writer.
Requirements
- Be 16 years or older at the time of entry.
- Open to writers from all countries.
- Submit one original, unpublished work in English.
- Entries may be:
- A single poem (any length; not a collection), or
- A single prose piece (fiction or non-fiction) of up to 4,000 words.
- Entries must not have been:
- Published in print or online.
- Self-published.
- Broadcast.
- Simultaneous submissions are permitted.
- AI-generated work is not permitted.
- Multiple entries are allowed, but each requires a separate entry fee.
- Entry fee: €16 per submission.