❛ A poem learned by heart is a kind of friend, something that accompanies you through life. I'd like to write a poem that someone wanted to learn by heart.
From our interview with poet Hannah Sullivan, from Issue 52. 🫀 #MothArchives
❛ A poem learned by heart is a kind of friend, something that accompanies you through life. I'd like to write a poem that someone wanted to learn by heart.
From our interview with poet Hannah Sullivan, from Issue 52. 🫀 #MothArchives
The theme of this week's The Moth Studios Challenge is the gym. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
Please share and good luck!
🎨 Eugene Fredrick Jansonn
❛ But luxury has never appealed to me, I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.
Daphne du Maurier, who died #OTD in 1989.
A peaceful weekend scene...
🍳 A Dardis, Issue 14 #MothArchives
In case you missed it...
Yesterday we announced this year's €6,000 overall winner of The Moth Poetry Prize – 'Shazaya' by Adam Oliver.
Here's the winning poem, as chosen by judge Ishion Hutchinson.
He is currently caring for his mother and writing all the poetry he can, including completing a collection about her loss to Alzheimer’s disease, entitled Disappearing Act
Adam Oliver is from West London. He is a graduate of Cambridge University’s Masters programme in Creative Writing. He taught English for more years than he cares to remember in England and Italy, and most recently was the headteacher of Robert College, Türkiye’s leading school.
'I am absolutely thrilled ‒ and stunned in equal measure... This is such an honour, and my first feelings are of incredible gratitude to you at The Moth, and of course to Ishion', said Oliver, on winning the prize.
Oliver will receive €6,000 prize money, while his three fellow shortlistees, Ronald Carson, Elena Croitoru-Reed and Juleus Ghunta, will each receive €1,000.
We're delighted to share this year's winner of The Moth Poetry Prize, as chosen by Ishion Hutchinson: 'Shazaya' by Adam Oliver.
The prize, which was established in 2011, remains one of the most prestigious and lucrative in the world for a single unpublished poem.
Join us LIVE over on IG now for this year's Moth Poetry Prize announcement: Instagram.com/themothmagazine
Don't forget to set a reminder for 6pm (GMT) tomorrow, Wednesday 15th – when we'll be going live to announce this year's overall winner of The Moth Poetry Prize, with readings from the shortlisted poets.
See you there!
🌟 instagram.com/themothmagazine
This week's Moth Studios Challenge is to produce a painting/drawing of a ball. The work must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Leonardo da Vinci
❛ In the past I have declined to comment on my own work: because, it seems to me, a poem is what it is; because a poem is itself a definition...
Poet James Schulyer, who died #OTD in 1991.
Ali Whitelock's poem 'a brief letter to the sea about a couple of things' – from Issue 49. 🫧 #MothArchives
❛ Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer.
Midweek writing advice from Pulitzer winner Barbara Kingsolver, who was born #OTD in 1955.
The theme of this week's The Moth Studios Challenge is Iran. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Darvish Fakhr
Check out our beautiful backlist bundles – the perfect thing for that person who is impossible to buy for!
FIVE back issues of The Moth full of great art and writing, for as little as €20 (inc. P&P). Fuss free. Pure joy.
✨ bit.ly/mothbundles
Happy Easter to those who celebrate, from The Moth HQ! 🪺
❛ You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn’t do anything to the object of its displeasure. So use that anger. You write it. You paint it... You talk it. Never stop talking it.
Maya Angelou, born #OTD in 1928.
- The Prize is open to anyone over 16, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished.
- There is a word limit of 3,000.
- The entry fee is €17 per story.
Closing 15 June.
Details over at: bit.ly/mothshortstory26
The winning story is printed as part of the summer fiction series in the Irish Times, while the 2nd and 3rd-prize-winning stories are published in the Irish Times online.
Her debut novel, The Benefactors, was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize, and shortlisted for best novel at the Irish Book Awards, and best audio novel at the British Audio Awards. It was awarded Waterstones Best Irish Book of 2025 and is longlisted for the Women's Prize 2026.
Wendy Erskine is the author of two prize-winning short story collections, Sweet Home and Dance Move. She edited the anthology well I just kind of like it about art in the home. She is a frequent broadcaster and interviewer, and works as a secondary school teacher in Belfast.
This year's Moth Short Story Prize is now officially open...
And we're delighted to share that the brilliant @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social is joining us as this year's judge.
THE PRIZES
1st prize €3,000
2nd prize €1,000
3rd prize a week at The Moth Retreat
Welcoming in the Easter bank holiday weekend...
Sarah Leonard, 'May', Issue 26. #MothArchives 🥚
Hello April! 🌷 To welcome in the month, we'd love to see your favourite poems that remind you of the season in the comments.
We'll start with 'April' by Mary Oliver.
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is cinema. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB). The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
Painting by Cathy Lomax
❛ And when I read, and really I do not read so much, only a few authors... I do this because they look at things in a broader, milder and more affectionate way than I do, and because they know life better, so that I can learn from them.
Vincent van Gogh, born #OTD in 1853.