Author Ryan Dennis, who grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York, has just put a call out for submissions of fiction, non-fiction and poetry for a 30-40 page booklet titled ‘Voices From The Land.’
Ryan was selected as one of two writers-in-residence at Maynooth University for 2021-2022.
“The project that I am developing as part of that position focuses on allowing Irish farmers to speak for themselves and share, in writing, their experiences and understanding of farming,” he said.
“As the number of farmers decrease in Ireland, so does their representation in literature.
“This makes it harder for those who do not farm to learn about the industry and what it means to be a farmer, as well as prevents the Irish farmer from being able to see his/her experiences reflected back to them in the things they read.
“Ultimately, the lack of writing about farming makes it a lonelier occupation,” Ryan continued.
“The goal of ‘Voices From The Land’ is to not only fill that gap, but to allow Irish farmers to define the farming experience themselves in a way that is not typically available to them.
“Presently, while there are various publications that provide industry news and technical information, there is no venue that focuses on creative writing specifically and exclusively about Irish farming.”
The deadline for submissions to ‘Voices From The Land’ is February 1, 2022. Submissions can be emailed to: [email protected].
There are no word count limits and those of all writing experiences are encouraged to enter. Ryan is also available to work with any potential contributor to help them develop and edit their piece.
Voices From The Land
‘Voices From The Land’ will be published in late-spring 2022
“Presently, I am in discussion with several organisations in regards to distributing it. It will be available nationally, regardless,” Ryan concluded.