Fire: Brigid and The Sacred Feminine can be ordered from Syracuse University Press USA, KENNYS in Ireland (free postage in Ireland), BLACKWELLS (free worldwide postage), Alan Hanna‘s Bookshop and from libraries in Ireland.
UPDATE 09/10/2024
The Holy Cows Project. This project began in October 2023 with Shauna Gilligan’s application with Niamh Boyce (editor) and Alan Hayes (publisher) as collaborative partners for funding from Brigid 1500/Kildare County Council.
Once funding was granted, this was swiftly followed by an open call out for submissions from 22nd January 2024 to 12th February 2024 inclusive.
Thank you to everyone who submitted work – it has been a joy reading, considering and selecting a wonderful cross-section of writing and art for the project anthology FIRE which was launched by Lucina Russell in September 2024 in Naas Library and Cultural Centre. It was an evening of reading and performance to remember!
It has been an amazing year working on this project, selecting and editing your work. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
The project and this email will formally close at the end of November 2024. Should you wish to keep in contact with the editors or publisher please contact them via social media or via this project website.
Thank you once again to our wonderful funders, Brigid 1500/Kildare County Council.
KEEP HER LIT!
Alan Hayes, Publisher & Niamh Boyce and Shauna Gilligan, Editors
UPDATE 01/10/2024: FIRE NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER
KENNYS in Ireland (free postage in Ireland)
BLACKWELLS (free worldwide postage)
LAUNCH 26/09/2024
Thank you to Evelyn and Kevin at Naas Library and Cultural Centre for the beautiful venue and warm welcome. It was truly a wonderful evening!
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UPDATE 11/09/2024: LAUNCH OF FIRE – ALL WELCOME
UPDATE 01/09/2024
Editors Niamh Boyce and Shauna Gilligan are delighted to reveal the cover for Fire: Brigid and the Sacred Feminine.
Save the date: Fire: Brigid and the Sacred Feminine an anthology of art and writing (Eds Niamh Boyce and Shauna Gilligan) will be launched at Naas Library and Cultural Centre at 6.45pm on Thursday, 26th September by Lucina Russell, Lecturer in Art & Design Teacher Education, Limerick School of Art as part of Kildare Readers’ Festival 2024. Copies of a special limited edition to celebrate 50 years of Arlen House will be available at the launch only!
We are thrilled to feature “Snakelady” by the brilliant Noël O’Callaghan as the cover art – see more of her work here. Keep posted for more on this exciting new anthology on the themes of Brigid, the Sacred Feminine and the heritage of Kildare.
This anthology – the result of the Holy Cows Project started by Shauna Gilligan – was made possible with a 2024 Brigid 1500 / Kildare County Council Arts Act Grant.
PROJECT UPDATE 30 JUNE 2024: We have been hard at work on the anthology order and content – such stunning writing and art! Our publisher Arlen House will be in touch with each contributor over the next few weeks. We are also working with Kildare Readers Festival on the first of our launch dates in late September. We will keep you all updated!
PROJECT UPDATE 29 APRIL 2024: We are delighted to have sent out notification of our full acceptances – amazing work out of over 500 submissions. Congratulations to everyone! We really look forward to working on the anthology with our publisher Arlen House over the coming months!
PROJECT UPDATE 13 MARCH 2024: Due to the success of our open call for the Brigid 1500 funded Holy Cows project, we received a huge number of submissions from across the world. We are honoured that you have trusted us with your work. We will now be in touch with everyone who submitted during the month of April 2024. Thank you for your patience!
SUBMISSIONS UPDATE 13 Feb 2024: HOLY COWS: THE RED BOOK OF KILDARE is now closed for submissions. The panel is truly grateful and overwhelmed with such a wealth of work from all across the world. Expect to hear back from the panel by March 15th.
CALL OUT: We are looking for personal responses to the themes of the Sacred Feminine, Brigid, and the Heritage of Kildare. (Responses might explore the themes as linked, or as individual themes.) The anthology will be published by Arlen House and launched at Kildare Readers Festival October 2024 as part of Brigid 1500 Celebrations. We hope this anthology will become a source book and a tonic. All genres of writing and visual art welcome. Collaborative submissions also welcome.
Be honest; tell your truth. Crash the clichés! Surprise us.
Submission Guidelines: Please read and follow the below guidelines carefully!
How to submit:
- Submit unpublished work (online or otherwise) by email to HolyCowsRedBook@gmail.com as an attachment.
- All submissions are read anonymously so please do not have any personal identifiers on your manuscript or art work (any work that does can not be considered for the anthology)
- Please put Poetry or Prose or Visual Art in the subject title – as appropriate to your work.
- Include a brief 50-word biography in the body of your email.
What to submit:
- Prose: up to 2,000 words, in .doc, .docx, or pdf.
- Poetry: up to 3 poems (no longer than 40 lines, excluding title) in .doc, .docx, or pdf.
- Visual Art: submissions in jpeg. 2MB; 300 dpi; minimum 2000 pixels in width and height.
When to submit: Submissions will be accepted between Monday 22nd January and Monday 12th February 2024 only. No work can be considered outside these dates.
Submissions Response:
- All submissions will be acknowledged by email.
- Successful applicants will be informed by email before Friday 15th March 2024.
- The decision of the editorial panel is final.
- The editorial panel is not in a position to enter into correspondence about submissions or to give any feedback.
- Successful applicants will receive a small fee for their work and one paperback copy of the anthology.
This Project is gratefully funded by a 2024 Brigid 1500 and Kildare County Council Community and Creative Arts Grant.
Shauna Gilligan Writer 
Does the work have to be about the sacred feminine AND Brigid and Kildare or would an experience of the sacred feminine that has taken place somewhere else be acceptable?
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Hi Mary Gene, Thank you for taking the time to comment. The call covers three themes – sacred feminine, Brigid, and Kildare – so submissions may speak to all three or one or two of themes. I hope this helps!
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May we submit one prose piece and 1-3 poems?
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Multiple submissions are permitted, e.g. poetry and art/ poetry and prose. Many thanks for your interest!
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Great idea. A question: Are you open to both fiction and non-fiction prose?
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Thank you for your comment. Yes, the call is open to fiction and non-fiction. All types of prose within the word limits.
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Hi Shauna, Could you please clarify the size of the image for a visual art work. Is the 2MB; 300dpi max or min size required?
Is 2000pixels minimum 2000 width x 2000 height?
thank you
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Thanks for the question. I’ll come back with more detail, but send on what you have and I’ll be back once I consult with the panel.
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Hi again, it’s not the work itself but the image of the work the MB measurements refer to, so maybe think of it as the size of the file. The pixels is the dimensions itself, which is the minimum required. Thanks a mill.
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Can the poem be previously published? It doesn’t say it can’t.
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Thanks for the question. The guidelines specifically say unpublished work only: “Submit unpublished work (online or otherwise) by email to HolyCowsRedBook@gmail.com as an attachment.”. Best of luck!
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Hi Shauna. Is there a time deadline on Monday,12th or is anytime before midnight okay. Thanks.
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See previous reply. Thanks again for the comment and interest.
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Hi Shauna. Is there a time deadline on Monday, 12th or is any time before midnight okay? Thanks.
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Before midnight on 12th is just fine. Thanks for the question!
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Hi Shauna, I am an Indian writer, not of European ancestry/ residence. Will you accept submissions for this anthology from international writers?
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Thanks for the comment. We welcome all submissions on any or all of the three themes as outlined in the submissions call. We look forward to your submission.
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Hi Shauna,
Should all poems be in one document or separate files each?
Thank you.
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Thanks for the reply. Either will do – just please save the files by using the titles of the poems.
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I am unable to find any result (acceptance/rejection) for submissions. Have decisions now been made? I’d appreciate an update. Thanks.
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Final decisions will be made prior to end of this month (April) as per update, so please don’t worry if you haven’t heard from us yet. You will. We will respond to each person who submitted! Thank you for your patience.
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