Green-Schools National Marine Creative Writing Competition 2026
The Green-Schools National Marine Creative Writing Competition 2026 is now open for entries! Calling all young writers and poets in schools that are working on, or have been awarded, the Green Flag for Global Citizenship Marine Environment – submit your story (or poem!) to be in with a chance to win some fantastic prizes in this year’s national creative writing competition!
The theme for this year’s competition is “A message from the waves” .
We invite all sorts of stories and poems inspired by this theme, whether it’s an adventure story about discovering a message in a bottle or a metaphorical poem about lessons we can learn from the ocean – we look forward to receiving lots of creative and imaginative entries!
Competition
The aim of the competition is for individual students to create an original piece of fictional creative writing inspired by the theme “A message from the waves”. The piece may take the form of either a short story or a poem and must be no more than 500 words in length.
Eligibility
The competition is open to primary and secondary schools that are registered Green-Schools currently working on, or previously awarded for, the Global Citizenship: Marine Environment theme. Entries must adhere to the Terms and Conditions and be submitted by the deadline of midnight, Friday, 27th February, 2026.
Categories
There are three categories for entry:
- Primary School – 1st & 2nd class
- Primary School – 3rd & 4th class
- Primary School – 5th & 6th class
- Secondary School (all year groups)
Entries from Special Schools are strongly encouraged. Special School entries may be entered into whichever age category is deemed most appropriate by the student’s teacher.
Prizes
There will be one overall national winner for each age category: each 1st place winner will receive a trophy, €100 book token, and a whale or dolphin adoption from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. 2nd place winners will receive a trophy and a €75 book token; 3rd place winners will receive a trophy and a €50 book token. All winners will receive a printed booklet anthology including their winning entry. Additional or equivalent prizes may be offered subject to availability.
How to enter
Before entering, please read the full Terms & Conditions, which can be downloaded through the link below. Entries may be typed or handwritten but must be submitted through the official online entry form. Postal entries will not be accepted.
For queries, contact the Green-Schools Marine team at marine@greenschoolsireland.org
The Green-Schools National Marine Creative Writing Competition is proudly supported by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
