There’s a new literary journal on the block and, knowing the people behind it (Laura Jane Cassidy, Claire Hennessy & Eimear Ryan),  this is going to be good quality stuff. Everything from the ethos, to the organisation, to the work accepted and the overall presentation, promises to be top notch – and they’re open for submissions. Personally, I can’t wait to see the results.

Over on writing.ie, Claire explains a little bit more…

“We’re all writers; we know that talking and dreaming and hoping only take you so far. We also know what anything creative in any way is like – it is almost inevitably more work, and takes longer, than you imagine it will be.

But we’re doing this anyway. In part because several great outlets for Irish writing, such as The SHOp and wordlegs, are now closed; in part because there are lots of marvellous newer outlets, like The Penny Dreadful  and The Bohemyth  and Colony  and Gorse , going from strength to strength. In part because there are longstanding outlets like Hennessy (no relation, alas) New Irish Writing, now in The Irish Times , and The Stinging Fly , continuing to do a great job; and in part because there is always a need for new blood, for new editorial eyes, in anything creative. And mostly because we love words and language and what people can do with them.‘

Fair play to the girls. There can never be enough great journals as far as I’m concerned.

The first submissions window for Banshee is open until March 31st, and they aim to reply to all submissions by the end of May…

You can read the full details here: http://www.bansheelit.com/