A literary journal for all things to do with Teen and Young Adult Literature
Don’t forget, our art submissions are open all year round! All artwork will be considered for cover art too!
Send us your photography, paintings, sketches, collages, digital illustrations, and mixed media. Open internationally to artists aged 13+ and adults! Artists will receive a fee for their work.
Take a look at our art and photography submission guidelines here
Thanks to the lovely people in Barrington Stoke, we have a copy of The Climbers by Keith Gray for one lucky winner! This compelling tale of teenage rivalry captures the subtle agonies of growing up in a small town. It is published on the 8th August.
Here’s what Patrick Ness has to say about it: “Keith Gray is the real deal, a writer of intelligence, toughness, and heart. The Climbers is a moving, surprising story of competition, self-awareness, friendship, and the more you look, the deeper the damn thing gets.”
We can’t wait to read it! To be entered into our prize draw and in with a chance of winning a copy, just fill out this Google form.
Open to Ireland and the UK only. Closes midnight Monday 2nd August. Best of luck!
PS. Don’t forget to follow Paper Lanterns Literary Journal on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Make sure you don’t miss out on any more great giveaways!
We are delighted to co-host the Teen Short Story Competition with Tertulia Books in Westport, Co. Mayo.
Our theme for this competition is ‘Waves’. Put your thinking caps on and start writing!
The competition closes on August 1st, at 6 PM.
We are thrilled to have award winning YA author Deirdre Sullivan as our guest judge.
Submit your short story to: competition.paperlanterns@gmail.com
In the body of your email, please include:
Our guest judge will read and select the winning pieces (one from each age group) from the shortlist.
The winners will be published in Issue 6 of Paper Lanterns.
The winners will receive a cash prize sponsored by Tertulia in association with Spot-Lit EU.
The winners will also receive a copy of Issue 6.
Guidelines:
And don’t forget, you can pre-order your copy of issue five here:
The Crooked Mask by Rachel Burge, published by Hot Key Books, was Issue 4’s book club pick. Our co-editor Amy is here to share her thoughts on YA read, as well as our book club writing prompt!
This was a brilliant, tense read. I loved the incorporation of Nordic myths and the sense that no-one was what they seemed. As I’m currently enjoying Loki on Disney, it was really interesting to see another perspective on the Nordic gods.
My favourite aspect was the atmosphere; intense, evocative and mystical, the pervading feeling throughout the book was a thrilling sense of uncertainty. The mist and darkness reflected the central question for Martha – is she seeing what is in front of her?
Our ‘Crooked Mask’ inspired writing prompt is ‘mayhem of masks’. Write 500 words or create an art piece based on the prompt ‘masks’. If you’d like, you can share your work with us, or submit it to our journal!
Reading recommendations: We’re all about strong atmospheres this issue – please tell us about a novel you read where the atmosphere created really jumps off the page and drags you in in our replies. And if you loved The Crooked Mask, please let us know!
You can buy The Crooked Mask here
Thank you for following along with our Book Club! You can hear more from author Rachel Burge in our Book Club corner of Issue 4. Now available at 15% off! We’ll be announcing our next pick at our launch next Thursday, so stay tuned!
Paper Lanterns is looking for an intern to join us for our issue 6 production cycle, from the last week in June (starting 28th June) to September 20th.
Interns will get the chance to be involved in all aspects of producing a journal, from the submission and editing process to production and publicity.
This is a paid part-time position, 7 hours a week at €10.20 an hour.
Hours are fully flexible but candidates must be available for an evening meeting one day a week.
We are working at home. Candidates must have access to a laptop and an internet connection.
The intern will assist in:
Experience:
The successful candidate must have a keen interest in YA literature.
Experience in marketing, a working knowledge of WordPress, and a keen eye for editing is preferred.
To apply, please send your CV and covering letter to paperlanternsjournal@gmail.com by 11 am (GMT) on 22nd June.
Submissions are open for Issue 6!
We are now accepting poetry, short stories and flash fiction from teen & adult writers age 13+. Open internationally. Closes July 4th, 6pm (GMT)
Please make sure your work is written for a teen and young adult audience.
You can find out more on our submissions page here
Thanks to funding from @artscouncil_ie, we pay all our creative writing contributors.
We are thrilled to announce the talented writers, artists and reviewers who will feature in Paper Lanterns Issue 5!
Available to pre-order now
We are thrilled to share our cover for Issue 5!
The image is “Summer”, by 16 year old artist Olivia Boylan.
Cover design by Eleanor Brayden.
You can pre-order your copy of Issue 5 now – click here!
We are delighted to chat to author Sheena Wilkinson about ‘Writing the Teen Voice’, hosted by Belfast Book Festival. This Saturday at 3.30pm! We hope to see you there – virtually! Book your FREE ticket today
To celebrate, we’re offering a flash sale of 15% off issues 3 and 4! Order now, before they’re gone!
Paper Lanterns: Issue 15
€10.00
The Ultimate Holiday Bundle 2024
Original price was: €30.00.€25.00Current price is: €25.00.
Year Long Subscription to Paper Lanterns
€18.00
Issue 7: Digital Download
€5.00