Category: News

Posted on by

Announcing our 2025 Flash Fiction Contest

For the month of July, we are hosting a new, teen flash fiction contest. Can you write a story in only 500 words or fewer? Get writing and find out!

The theme is ‘Wonder’ – this doesn’t mean your title has to be the same word! In fact, we encourage you to be creative with your title. How can it enhance your story? Psst… Titles won’t be included in the word count!

The winner will be published in our next issue this autumn and receive a prize of €100 (cash or voucher).

All teens aged 13-18, living on the island of Ireland can enter. Please send all entries to: competition.paperlanterns@gmail.com. Deadline is July 31st.

Happy writing!

Posted on by

Paper Lanterns at the ILF Dublin – Join Us!

An engaging, interactive workshop for emerging book reviewers! Whether you’re passionate, puzzled, or opinionated – bring your feelings and discover how to turn them into powerful, purposeful words on the page.

Join writer Claire Hennessy to explore how to read with a critical eye, frame reviews with context, and stick to word count guidelines. With a focus on YA fiction, this workshop unpacks how books balance entertainment and education.

Claire Hennessy is a writer, book critic, and creative writing facilitator. She is the author of twelve YA novels and is the YA reviewer for the Irish Times. Her latest book is a short story collection for adults, In The Movie Of Her Life. Created for writers, artists, dreamers, and doers, Paper Lanterns is the YA-focused literary magazine promoting the voices of young people in Ireland and across the world.

More information here: https://ilfdublin.com/whats-on/festival/paper-lanterns-young-reviewers-workshop-with-claire-hennessy/

Posted on by

Contributors for Issue 15 revealed!

Pre-Order

Introducing our writers, reviewers and artists for Issue 15!


As always, we have an amazing selection of fiction and artwork to lose yourself in and some fabulous reviews of the latest teen and YA books that you can add to your ‘To Be Read’ piles.

What to expect from Issue 15: 

💜A platform for teen creative expression, supporting young artists by elevating their work

📖Short stories, flash fiction and poems by teenage and YA authors

🪁20 pages of book reviews to help chose your latest YA read

🌅The winners of our ‘Daylight’ Short Story competition, sponsored by Tertulia Books

🪻Our beautiful cover: ‘Flower Market Girls’ by Ana Graça

🟣An interview with Zainab Boladale, author of Braids Take A Day

☂️Our book club discussion of Wise Creatures by Deirdre Sullivan

🎆Intriguing art in a variety of media

💟Romantasy: What is behind the new phenomenon? : an essay by Méabh McDonnell

The perfect journal for teens who love to read, as well as older YA enthusiasts.

Issue 15 will be posted the first week of March.

We also offer subscriptions to schools and libraries – email us at paperlanternsjournal@gmail.com to find out more

Posted on by

Issue 15 Cover …

✨Issue 15 Cover Reveal ✨


We’re delighted to reveal our cover for Issue 15, available 1st March!
Cover art: Flower Market Girls by Ana Graça
Designer: Eleanor Brayden

Pre-Order

We’re sharing our contributors and launch details this week, so watch this space…

Filled with art and writing, including our author interview with @zainab_boladale , article on all things Romantasy by Méabh McDonnell, and the winners of our short story competition with Tertulia Books.

As always, half our contributors are teenagers, making sure we platform young people’s voices!

Posted on by

Resources for Teachers

Calling all teachers!

Do you have readers, writers and artists in your class that you think would be interested in being involved with Paper Lanterns? We are putting together a newsletter for teachers and other youth workers to help their students get involved.

Paper Lanterns is a great addition to any school library. With art, short stories, poetry, reviews and essays, there is something for any teenager. You can buy a subscription on our shop, or email us at paperlanternsjournal@gmail.com if you need a purchase order.

Still on the fence? You can check out past work here: From The Archives

Sign up to our teacher newsletter for more info –  https://forms.gle/4CxZJuSmyGfFADRR8

Poster for the classroom 1
Newsletter Sign Up
Submission Guidelines
Become a book reviewer
Extracts from Past Issues
Posted on by

Short Story Competition Now Open!

White text on a background that is dusky purple on the bottom fading to a peach orange cloud on top. Paper Lanterns and Tertulia Present Short Story. Theme: Daylight Guest Judge: Sam Blake. Open to teens on the island of Ireland Two categories: 13-15 years & 16-18 years Submit to: competition.paperlanterns@gmail.com Closes September 10th 11.59 PM

Our theme for this competition is ‘Daylight’. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box!

The competition closes on September 10th at 11.59 PM.

Submit your short story to: competition.paperlanterns@gmail.com in a Word Document or a Google Document.

In the body of your email, please include:

  • Your name.
  • Your age.
  • Your county of residence (you must live on the island of Ireland).
  • Your school (if applicable).
  • A little bit about yourself!

Our guest judge, Sam Blake, will read and select the winning pieces (one from each age group) from the shortlist.

The winners will be published in Issue 15 of Paper Lanterns.

The winners will receive a cash prize of €100 sponsored by Tertulia.

The winners will also receive a copy of Issue 15.

We can’t wait to read your stories!

Guidelines:

  • You must be a resident on the island of Ireland.
  • You must be aged between 13-18. We have two judging categories: 13-15 years and 16-18 years.
  • Your work must be an original piece.
  • Short stories must be between 1200 and 2000 words. Please do not exceed this word count.
  • All stories will be read blind. Do not include your name or contact details within the submitted document.
  • We will not consider work that is prejudiced in nature. We will not consider work that includes, but is not limited to: sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or classist content.
  • We cannot accept work that has already been published.
  • The judge’s decision is final. Our guest judge cannot provide feedback on any submitted or shortlisted pieces.