Ambit (monthly, 2nd Tue) Poetry, prose, invited readers and floorspots. Upstairs at The Bath House pub, 96 Dean St, Soho, London W1D. 6.30pm, £5/£4. More info on their website.

Richmond Writers Circle. A group for writers of poetry and prose; the group holds occasional performance evenings and competitions. Parish Rooms, Church Walk, Richmond, TW9. 0208 878 2086. 7.30pm, £2.

New River Writers Weekly informal workshop with readings from work in progress in prose and poetry. Upstairs at Wenlock Arms, 26 Wenlock Rd, N1. Contact: duffusjjg@hotmail.com 7.30-10pm. Free.

Tales of the DeCongested Monthly, last Fri. Short story readings at Foyles bookshop, 113-119 Charing Cross Rd WC1. 7.30pm, £3/£2.50.

Welcome to Wormworld Open mic poetry at The Foundry, 84-86 Great Eastern St, London EC2. Old Street tube, exit 3. Weekly, 8pm. Free.

Player Playwrights Writers and actors’ club with usually weekly readings of new work (stage and radio plays, film scripts and sketches). Upstairs at the Horse and Groom, 128 Great Portland St, London W1. 7.45pm, £2. See their site for more.
Exiled Writers Ink - first Mon of month, Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, WC2. First half programmed, second half open mic. 7.30pm, £3/£1 Current info here.

A creative writing workshop suitable for all levels of experience led by novelist Kathy Page and short story writer Vicky Grut. Venue Upstairs at The Yorkshire Grey, 29-33 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1. Price: £70 includes sandwiches, tea, coffee. Max 20 participants. More info call: 020-87690290; website, email londonwritingworkshops@googlemail.com

Workshops, events and lots of other goings on, including music, heritage walks and short stories, at this fresh, informal, literary festival by the sea, in Bantry. Many readings are free to attend, and featured authors include David Mitchell, Kevin Barry, Vanessa Gebbie and Ireland’s queen of travel writing, Dervla Murphy. Workshop options include a masterclass with Colum McCann €20 or a range of 5-day workshops at €175. More here. Activities for children run concurrently. More here.

Among the writers taking part in the 2008 festival are Salman Rushdie, ALKennedy and Catherine O'Flynn. Events take place in a marquee, and travellers to Lewes can catch a festival shuttle bus from there. Tickets online here. All Day tickets available from £35 per day.

1st Prize: £2,000. No entry fee or form. Writers from anywhere in the Commonwealth may enter, and stories may take any theme or subject. Max word length: 600. Stories must be original and unpublished anywhere, in full or part. Entrants must confirm this in writing with their submission. Post entries to: Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, 17 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1AA, UK or email them to story@cba.org.uk More info here.

First prize: a holiday for two to Kyrgyzstan plus publication in The Independent on Sunday. Previously unpublished writers’ prize: a place on a travel-writing course in Granada, Spain. Max length: 800. Theme: The Heart of the City. Post entries to: Bradt Travel Guides (Travel-Writing Competition), 23 High Street, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks, SL9 9QE.

Prizes: First - £5000, 2nd - £2500, 3rd - £1000. Plus 3 x commendations worth £500 each. Entry fee £6 per poem. Entry form required. Judges for 2008: Andrew Motion, Moniza Alvi and Alice Oswald. More info and entry form here.

Prize: £1000 and a one-year subscription to the LRB. Entrants must be under 26 on 2 June 2008, and should submit one review, praising or unpraising, 2500 -3000 words long, of any work of fiction or poetry published after Jan 2007. The review must be original, unpublished work (but may have appeared in a student periodical). More here