Writers Circle
Submissions
Submissions for the 2026/27 Writers Circle will open in mid-July 2026 and close August 31st 2026, with the programme beginning in September / October 2026 and ending in March 2027.
Programme Focus
We’ll be seeking writers writing from across genres (except horror and poetry) and those experimenting with new approaches to storytelling.
Eligibility
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions about their writing challenges, receive constructive feedback, access peer support, and become part of a vibrant creative community.
Writers must have a core project that they intend to work on, and they must be willing to commit to supporting other writers in the Circle.
Application Process
To be considered applicants must submit a 2,000 words sample HERE and complete the following form below.
About the Circle
In 2026, the Writers Circle will continue to focus on critiquing excerpts, while we also encourage participants to use the Circle to explore the broader challenges that naturally arise across a complete work.
Commitment
We are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment for all participants.
Selection Process
All applicants will be informed in early September with successful applicants only invited to pay the fee to book their place.
Participants
Darcey Elizabeth Youngman: A Manc writer, based in Belfast. She graduated from Queens University with an MA in Creative Writing in 2023. Her work has been published/performed with BrickFox Theatre, The Blackbird anthology, Slugger O'Toole and Tenby9.
Fionntán Macdonald: A writer of prose, poetry and drama born and based in Belfast. He has previously written for QFT Belfast, been featured in Film Daze and Hear Us Scream and has had poetry published in Aurora’s and Blossoms and Eascair Magazine. His short drama has been performed with Patchwork Productions and he is currently collaborating with local artists on several theatre projects.
Kristen Kernaghan: An American playwright and educator living in Belfast. She studied Drama and Creative Writing at the University of Alabama, and her short plays Yes, No, Maybe So (Guerilla Theatre), Fallen Socks and Fear (Accidental Theatre, Cork Arts Theatre), Shakespeare’s Sisters (Fickle Favours) and This is the First Scene, Maybe the Only (Accidental Theatre) have been produced in Ireland, England and America. Her first full-length play Visitations received a staged reading with Ransom Production’s Write on the Edge programme. Her second play Our Father explores what we do with uncomfortable legacies as three adult children move their father into a dementia care facility.
Bethany Waterhouse-Bradley: An American, living for two decades in Belfast. She has been writing poetry and short stories since she was a precocious girl in Maine. She has published a volume of academic work in sociology and social policy journals. Bethany is in the final stages of completing her first novel, Murmurations - a ghost story about intergenerational trauma and the terrors of motherhood. She has shared her poetry in workshops at Seaside Books, read a short story at Accidental Theatre's Piano and Prose, and is a member of the 2024/5 Accidental Writer's Circle.