The Moth Magazine
@themothmagazine.bsky.social
International art & lit magazine. One of the world's biggest prizes for a poem. Short story, nature writing & art prizes. Also: @thecaterpillarmag
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Hello Bluesky #WritingCommunity! We're the home of The Moth Magazine, an iconic Irish printed art & lit magazine, and The Moth Poetry Prize, one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem. Plus annual short story and nature writing prizes, and much more...
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is hairdressing. Your artwork must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Margaret Clarke
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Margaret Clarke
December 1, 2025 at 10:39 PM
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is hairdressing. Your artwork must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Margaret Clarke
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Margaret Clarke
❛ As somebody who desperately wants to communicate my inner world to other people, the poem just seemed like the most useful little machine.
From our interview with poet Victoria Kennefick (Issue 50).
From our interview with poet Victoria Kennefick (Issue 50).
November 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM
❛ As somebody who desperately wants to communicate my inner world to other people, the poem just seemed like the most useful little machine.
From our interview with poet Victoria Kennefick (Issue 50).
From our interview with poet Victoria Kennefick (Issue 50).
❛ I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you might nudge the world a little or make a poem that children will speak for you when you are dead.
We're sorry to hear of the passing of Tom Stoppard. #RIP
We're sorry to hear of the passing of Tom Stoppard. #RIP
November 29, 2025 at 8:57 PM
❛ I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you might nudge the world a little or make a poem that children will speak for you when you are dead.
We're sorry to hear of the passing of Tom Stoppard. #RIP
We're sorry to hear of the passing of Tom Stoppard. #RIP
Counting down to The Moth Poetry Prize with one of our previous winners as inspiration – an extract from Lance Larsen's 'Things I'm Against', selected by 2023 judge Hannah Sullivan.
This year's prize closes 31 December...
Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry24
This year's prize closes 31 December...
Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry24
November 27, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Counting down to The Moth Poetry Prize with one of our previous winners as inspiration – an extract from Lance Larsen's 'Things I'm Against', selected by 2023 judge Hannah Sullivan.
This year's prize closes 31 December...
Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry24
This year's prize closes 31 December...
Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry24
Today's #ThrowbackTuesday from The Moth Archives, 'Dance with Fox' by Anna Jung Seo, originally from Issue 47 🦊
November 25, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Today's #ThrowbackTuesday from The Moth Archives, 'Dance with Fox' by Anna Jung Seo, originally from Issue 47 🦊
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is a heat source. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Vija Celmins
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Vija Celmins
November 24, 2025 at 7:54 PM
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is a heat source. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Vija Celmins
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Vija Celmins
❛ There will be dying, there will be dying, / but there is no need to go into that. / The poems flow from the hand unbidden / and the hidden source is the watchful heart.
Poet Derek Mahon, who was born #OTD in 1941.
Poet Derek Mahon, who was born #OTD in 1941.
November 23, 2025 at 7:37 PM
❛ There will be dying, there will be dying, / but there is no need to go into that. / The poems flow from the hand unbidden / and the hidden source is the watchful heart.
Poet Derek Mahon, who was born #OTD in 1941.
Poet Derek Mahon, who was born #OTD in 1941.
Every back issue of The Moth features two exclusive interviews, with the likes of Sarah Hall, Seán Hewitt, Sharon Olds, Sally Rooney, Eimear McBride, Kit de Waal, Hera Lindsay Bird, and more.
Come kick back with your favourite writers...
🐡 bit.ly/pastmoths
Come kick back with your favourite writers...
🐡 bit.ly/pastmoths
November 22, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Every back issue of The Moth features two exclusive interviews, with the likes of Sarah Hall, Seán Hewitt, Sharon Olds, Sally Rooney, Eimear McBride, Kit de Waal, Hera Lindsay Bird, and more.
Come kick back with your favourite writers...
🐡 bit.ly/pastmoths
Come kick back with your favourite writers...
🐡 bit.ly/pastmoths
❛ A true artist should be able to make something creative or artistic out of anything he's got... you should be able to take the whole world as your material.
Artist and writer Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, who died #OTD in 2010.
Artist and writer Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, who died #OTD in 2010.
November 21, 2025 at 5:29 PM
❛ A true artist should be able to make something creative or artistic out of anything he's got... you should be able to take the whole world as your material.
Artist and writer Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, who died #OTD in 2010.
Artist and writer Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, who died #OTD in 2010.
❛ I meet people who are full-time writers and I can’t figure out how they do it. How can you pay your rent like? Seriously.
'Like an Ordinary Life', our interview with writer Donal Ryan, from Issue 16. #MothArchives
'Like an Ordinary Life', our interview with writer Donal Ryan, from Issue 16. #MothArchives
November 20, 2025 at 6:18 PM
❛ I meet people who are full-time writers and I can’t figure out how they do it. How can you pay your rent like? Seriously.
'Like an Ordinary Life', our interview with writer Donal Ryan, from Issue 16. #MothArchives
'Like an Ordinary Life', our interview with writer Donal Ryan, from Issue 16. #MothArchives
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is pigs. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB). The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Monique Sarkessian
🎨 Monique Sarkessian
November 18, 2025 at 6:17 PM
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is pigs. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB). The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Monique Sarkessian
🎨 Monique Sarkessian
A sleepy Saturday throwback, 'All Hands Belong' by Beth Booth - from Issue 37 #MothArchives 🐕
November 15, 2025 at 7:54 PM
A sleepy Saturday throwback, 'All Hands Belong' by Beth Booth - from Issue 37 #MothArchives 🐕
November 14, 2025 at 7:26 PM
❛ It seems to me madness to wake up in the morning and do something other than paint, considering that one may not wake up the following morning.
Frank Auerbach, who died #OTD one year ago today.
Frank Auerbach, who died #OTD one year ago today.
November 11, 2025 at 6:36 PM
❛ It seems to me madness to wake up in the morning and do something other than paint, considering that one may not wake up the following morning.
Frank Auerbach, who died #OTD one year ago today.
Frank Auerbach, who died #OTD one year ago today.
This week's Moth Studios challenge is to paint / draw a root vegetable. The work must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Lizz Lovell
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Lizz Lovell
November 10, 2025 at 8:41 PM
This week's Moth Studios challenge is to paint / draw a root vegetable. The work must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Lizz Lovell
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Lizz Lovell
The Moth Poetry Prize's past judges include Claudia Rankine, Marie Howe, Billy Collins, Nick Laird, Warsan Shire, Hannah Sullivan, Fiona Benson, Louise Glück and more.
We're delighted to add Ishion Hutchinson to the list this year!
Open now. Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
We're delighted to add Ishion Hutchinson to the list this year!
Open now. Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
November 9, 2025 at 8:50 PM
The Moth Poetry Prize's past judges include Claudia Rankine, Marie Howe, Billy Collins, Nick Laird, Warsan Shire, Hannah Sullivan, Fiona Benson, Louise Glück and more.
We're delighted to add Ishion Hutchinson to the list this year!
Open now. Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
We're delighted to add Ishion Hutchinson to the list this year!
Open now. Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
❛ Everyone's really fucking lazy. They want me to be one thing. They want to pin down everybody and they want them to be one thing they can call confessional or experimental... I tried them all out because I just have to. And I'm not one thing.
Alice Notley, born #OTD in 1945.
Alice Notley, born #OTD in 1945.
November 8, 2025 at 4:57 PM
❛ Everyone's really fucking lazy. They want me to be one thing. They want to pin down everybody and they want them to be one thing they can call confessional or experimental... I tried them all out because I just have to. And I'm not one thing.
Alice Notley, born #OTD in 1945.
Alice Notley, born #OTD in 1945.
‘The Moth magazine is a thing of beauty’ Caoilinn Hughes
'It manages to have gravitas and coolness simultaneously’ National Poetry Library
'It’s beautiful. I always want to frame it ’ Fiona Benson
Back issues from just €5, including P&P...
🦋 bit.ly/pastmoths
'It manages to have gravitas and coolness simultaneously’ National Poetry Library
'It’s beautiful. I always want to frame it ’ Fiona Benson
Back issues from just €5, including P&P...
🦋 bit.ly/pastmoths
November 7, 2025 at 8:05 PM
‘The Moth magazine is a thing of beauty’ Caoilinn Hughes
'It manages to have gravitas and coolness simultaneously’ National Poetry Library
'It’s beautiful. I always want to frame it ’ Fiona Benson
Back issues from just €5, including P&P...
🦋 bit.ly/pastmoths
'It manages to have gravitas and coolness simultaneously’ National Poetry Library
'It’s beautiful. I always want to frame it ’ Fiona Benson
Back issues from just €5, including P&P...
🦋 bit.ly/pastmoths
Hello November! 👋 The penultimate month. Who has a favourite piece of poetry that reminds them of the season?
We'll start with this gem from (former Moth interviewee) Billy Collins...
We'll start with this gem from (former Moth interviewee) Billy Collins...
November 6, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Hello November! 👋 The penultimate month. Who has a favourite piece of poetry that reminds them of the season?
We'll start with this gem from (former Moth interviewee) Billy Collins...
We'll start with this gem from (former Moth interviewee) Billy Collins...
A little #ThrowbackTuesday to this stunning piece by Dutch artist Kenn Gregoire! 🪁
Originally from Issue 12 of The Moth.
Originally from Issue 12 of The Moth.
November 4, 2025 at 8:53 PM
A little #ThrowbackTuesday to this stunning piece by Dutch artist Kenn Gregoire! 🪁
Originally from Issue 12 of The Moth.
Originally from Issue 12 of The Moth.
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is Time. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Edvard Munch
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Edvard Munch
November 3, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is Time. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Edvard Munch
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Edvard Munch
The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for individual poems.
Open to anyone over 16, each year we hear from thousands of new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Is this the year you join them?
🌟 bit.ly/mothpoetry25
Open to anyone over 16, each year we hear from thousands of new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Is this the year you join them?
🌟 bit.ly/mothpoetry25
November 2, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for individual poems.
Open to anyone over 16, each year we hear from thousands of new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Is this the year you join them?
🌟 bit.ly/mothpoetry25
Open to anyone over 16, each year we hear from thousands of new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Is this the year you join them?
🌟 bit.ly/mothpoetry25
❛ I am a simple man and I use simple materials: Ivory Black, Vermilion, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, Flake White and no medium. That’s all I’ve ever used in my paintings.
L. S. Lowry, born #OTD in 1887.
L. S. Lowry, born #OTD in 1887.
November 1, 2025 at 7:47 PM
❛ I am a simple man and I use simple materials: Ivory Black, Vermilion, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, Flake White and no medium. That’s all I’ve ever used in my paintings.
L. S. Lowry, born #OTD in 1887.
L. S. Lowry, born #OTD in 1887.
Happy Halloween, friends of The Moth! 👻
(Painting: 'The Night' Aksel Waldermar Johannessen)
(Painting: 'The Night' Aksel Waldermar Johannessen)
October 31, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Happy Halloween, friends of The Moth! 👻
(Painting: 'The Night' Aksel Waldermar Johannessen)
(Painting: 'The Night' Aksel Waldermar Johannessen)
❛ When I am working, I am only aware of the canvas and what it tells me to do... I am certainly not aware of myself. Painting is a way of forgetting oneself.
Artist Joan Mitchell, who died #OTD in 1992.
Artist Joan Mitchell, who died #OTD in 1992.
October 30, 2025 at 8:13 PM
❛ When I am working, I am only aware of the canvas and what it tells me to do... I am certainly not aware of myself. Painting is a way of forgetting oneself.
Artist Joan Mitchell, who died #OTD in 1992.
Artist Joan Mitchell, who died #OTD in 1992.