The Stinging Fly Magazine
The Stinging Fly magazine was established in 1997 to seek out, publish and promote the very best new Irish and international writing.
We believe that there is a need for a magazine that, first and foremost, gives new and emerging writers an opportunity to get their work out into the world. We are particularly concerned to provide an outlet for short story writers.
The first issue appeared in March 1998. It was edited by founding editors Aoife Kavanagh and Declan Meade, and consisted of 28 A4 pages with five short stories and about twenty poems. In 2000 we introduced an author interview slot to the magazine, and in 2001 Eabhan Ní Shúileabháin became poetry editor and we incorporated book reviews into the magazine. In 2004 we toyed with the idea of giving it all up, but in 2005 came shuffling back with the first issue of a new volume.
Thomas Morris began working with us in 2011 and was editor of the magazine from 2014 to 2016. Sally Rooney became editor in November 2017, editing our two 2018 issues. Danny Denton took over the role in January 2019. Tom and Sally remain on board as contributing editors.
Over the years The Stinging Fly has published new work by a number of highly acclaimed Irish and international writers: people like Simon Armitage, Kevin Barry, Philip Casey, Evelyn Conlon, Emma Donoghue, Eamon Grennan, Kerry Hardie, Michael Harding, Claire Keegan, James Kelman, A.L. Kennedy, Toby Litt, Colum McCann, Medbh McGuckian, Paula Meehan, Sinéad Morrissey, Paul Murray, Philip Ó Ceallaigh, Sharon Olds, Keith Ridgway and C.K. Stead.
We remain convinced, however, that The Stinging Fly’s lasting contribution will be the opportunities it continues to give to new writers.
For more information on submitting to the magazine please see the Submission Guidelines.
The Stinging Fly Press
The Stinging Fly Press imprint was launched in May 2005 with the publication of our first title, Watermark by Sean O’Reilly. Like the magazine, the imprint is particularly interested in promoting the short story.
In 2007 we published the Rooney Prize-winning short story collection, There Are Little Kingdoms by Kevin Barry, and in 2009, Life in The Universe by Michael J. Farrell. We published The China Factory by Mary Costello in 2012, and Young Skins by Colin Barrett in 2013. In 2014 Young Skins earned Colin the Frank O’Connor Short Story Award, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and the Guardian First Book Award. In 2015 we published Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett and Dinosaurs On Other Planets by Danielle McLaughlin. Over the past couple of years we have reissued The Springs of Affection (stories) and The Long-Winded Lady (essays) by Maeve Brennan. Our most recent books include Levitation by Sean O’Reilly (2017), Sweet Home by Wendy Erskine (2018) and Show Them A Good Time by Nicole Flattery (2019). In addition to these titles, we have published a number of short story anthologies, including Stinging Fly Stories (2018), which brings together 40 short stories from the first 20 years of the magazine.
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The Stinging Fly receives Annual Funding from The Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. It is also supported by a Dublin City Council Arts Office Grant. We operate on a not-for-profit basis. Declan Meade is a registered sole trader. Annual accounts are compiled by Nolan & Associates, Chartered Accountants. The latest set of annual accounts are available here.