Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

OVER 4,000 entries to RT Short Story Competition 2020 - A new record

13/07/2020

We Irish have an obsessive need to tell stories - Madeleine Keane

You're looking for someone who can make an entire world in 2,000 words - Vincent Woods

The familiar world around us suddenly looked very strange - Danielle McLaughlin

www.rte.ie/writing

RT has received a record number of entries, over 4000, to this year's RT Short Story Competition, one of Ireland's longest established and most significant literary prizes, in honour of Francis MacManus.

Previously open to postal entries only, the competition opened to online entries also in late March in response to Covid restrictions. By the closing date in May, 4073 entries had been received- far surpassing the 2,300 submissions received for last year's competition.

Definitely, lockdown is a factor in these very strong numbers , said Sarah Binchy, producer of the RT Short Story Competition. People who might have always thought about entering, suddenly had the time to write. Then, being able to submit online makes it that bit easier to enter, particularly for contestants abroad. We've had entries coming in from Irish writers in all four corners of the globe, which is great to see. It's impressive to see such focus and creativity on the part of all these entrants, whether in Ireland or abroad, at a time of great stress and anxiety in the wider world.

The panel of three judges met on Friday 3rd July to begin the process of shortlisting the stories to a final 10 nominees which will be produced for radio, and announced in early September. The shortlist of 10 stories will be announced in early September on rte.ie/writing, and a virtual awards ceremony in RT will follow later that month, where the top three prize winners will be announced.

This year's judges are: editor, lecturer and journalist, Madeleine Keane; award-winning short story writer and previous prize-winner of the RT Short Story Competition, Danielle McLaughlin; and writer and broadcaster, Vincent Woods.

cof_vivi Previous prize-winner and judge for 2020, Danielle McLaughlin, says: This competition offers writers a great opportunity to reach such a large audience. And at a time when the familiar world around us suddenly looked very strange and inspired so many people to write stories, it really is wonderful for those writers to think that the story they have written at the kitchen table, maybe over several months, and invested so much in has the opportunity to be listened to by so many people all over the country.

The overall winner will receive 3,000, while 2,000 and 1,000 will be awarded to the second and third place prize winners respectively. A further seven runners-up will receive 250 each. All 10 short stories in the shortlist will be broadcast in a season of new writing on RT Radio 1 in the autumn and will feature in an RT podcast. The top three prizewinning stories will also be published on thejournal.ie, and all 10 stories will subsequently be published on rte.ie/culture.

The RT Short Story Competition has been championing new talent for decades with the winning and shortlisted short stories being produced for radio broadcast and voiced by some of Ireland's most talented actors of the stage and screen. In recent years these have included Peter Hanly, Ali White, Emmet Kirwan, Cathy Belton, Ingrid Craigie, Denis Conway, Andrew Bennett, Caitr ona N Mhurch , Kathy-Rose O'Brien, and many more.

Free to enter, the RT Short Story Competition is open to anyone over 18 living on the island of Ireland, or living abroad who holds an Irish passport. Next year's competition will open for entries in spring 2021.

About the RT Short Story Competition

A competition for original short stories for radio was first established in 1986 in memory of Francis MacManus (1909-1965), the Kilkenny-born novelist, biographer and former Head of Talks and Features at Radio ireann. Since its establishment, the competition has been a launching pad for many writers who have gone on to receive national and international acclaim, including Claire Keegan, Molly McCloskey, Anthony Glavin, Danielle McLaughlin and Nuala N Chonch ir.

The RT Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus is produced by Sarah Binchy.

About the judges

Danielle McLaughlin

Danielle McLaughlin's short story collection, Dinosaurs on Other Planets, was published in 2015 by the Stinging Fly Press. Her stories have appeared in the Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, Southword, and The New Yorker and have been broadcast on RT Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4. In 2019, she was a Windham-Campbell Prize recipient, and won the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. Her first novel, Retrospective, will be published in 2021.

Vincent Woods

Vincent Woods is a writer and broadcaster whose plays include At the Black Pig's Dyke, Song of the Yellow Bittern and A Cry from Heaven; and for radio, The Leitrim Hotel, The Gospels of Aughamore and Broken Moon. Poetry collections are The Colour of Language and Lives and Miracles. Recent publications include Leaves of Hungry Grass: Poetry and Ireland's Great Hunger (Quinnipiac University Press) and Borderlines (with Henry Glassie). Awards include the Stewart Parker Award for Drama and The Ted McNulty Award for Poetry. He has scripted and presented many arts programmes and documentaries on RT Radio 1. He directs the Iron Mountain Literature Festival in Leitrim. Vincent lives in Dublin and is a member of Aosd na.

Madeleine Keane

Madeleine Keane is an editor, lecturer and journalist. She was educated at UCD and Trinity. She joined the Sunday Independent in 1988 and has been its Literary Editor for the last 18 years. She regularly writes about books, arts and travel. She has broadcast on tv and radio about books and p
LINK: https://about.rte.ie/2020/07/12/over-4000-entries-to-rte-short%e2%80%a...
See more stories from rte

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

08/09/2026

IBC2026: Haivision Integrates Chyron LIVE into its Workflow

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/09/2026

Mo-Sys completes reorganisation strengthens management te...

Mo-Sys, the world-leading developer of virtual production, camera robotics and image tracking technology, has completed a business restructuring, which has incl...

08/09/2026

Aicox and TAG Video Systems power monitoring and multivie...

New York, September 8, 2026 The TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure developed by Telef nica's Audiovisual Services area re...

08/09/2026

Asharq migrates extended channel line-up to Pebble playou...

Expanded Riyadh operation brings Asharq and Thmanyah services together on a resilient on-premises Pebble platform. Pebble, the leading automation, content mana...

08/09/2026

Techex Extends its Lead in Software Defined Live Video at...

Techex, a pioneering leader in live video workflows, will showcase its broadest software feature set to date at IBC 2026 (Stand 2.B45), extending its lead in so...

08/09/2026

Grass Valley Advances Story-Centric Media Workflows for U...

Visitors to Grass Valley's booth at IBC2026 will be introduced to new Framelight X capabilities that connect content acquisition, management, editing and pu...

08/09/2026

BCNEXXT Showcases Latest Vipe Innovations at IBC2026 Rais...

BCNEXXT will showcase the latest evolution of Vipe at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B09), introducing a series of innovations designed to deliver higher-quality audience exp...

08/09/2026

Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform Power First Active Dep...

Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Ad Insertion Platform (AIP), a leading innovator in advanced ad insertion technologies, to...

08/09/2026

Brainstorm unveils major enhancements to its Suite 7 envi...

Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics and augmented and virtual production, is announcing a major package of enhancements to its Suite 7 soft...

08/09/2026

Big Blue Marble Collaborates with TDF as Technology Partn...

Big Blue Marble is supporting TDF, French infrastructure and network operator, broadcasting Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and radio services, as a techno...

08/09/2026

nxtedition takes agentic AI from newswire to gallery at I...

Agents work inside a single production environment, from incoming wire copy to a live studio show...

08/09/2026

Ceeblue and Layercake Expand Strategic Integration to Lau...

Building on their strategic partnership, Ceeblue and Layercake make the unthinkable possible: scalable sub-second streaming over standard DRM, SSAI, and CDN wor...

08/09/2026

Brainstorm launches Engram a dedicated asset management t...

Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is completing the environment for fast-paced broadcast production wi...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026 - The new Synamedia - solving the business of vi...

A SaaS portfolio built to work together, helping operators grow audiences, monetise smarter and run leaner, on their own terms At IBC 2026 (stand 1.B49) Synam...

08/09/2026

Accedo Selected by PlayOn Sports to Enhance NFHS Network...

Accedo, global provider of video streaming software and services, has been selected by PlayOn Sports, a national leader in high school sports technology, to exp...

08/09/2026

AP brings new connectivity and workflow tech to global ne...

LiveU, the leader in live IP-video solutions, is enabling The Associated Press to take global newsgathering to the next stage with intelligent connectivity and ...

08/09/2026

Mediagenix Personalization Curates Sports Content Around...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced the latest evolution of it...

08/09/2026

Appear X5 to enable flyaway contribution for DP World Tou...

Compact, power-efficient X Platform performance brings broadcast-grade reliability and ultra-low latency to space-constrained remote production (REMI) workflows...

08/09/2026

Zixi and Kiloview Partner to Deliver Broadcast-Grade IP V...

Zixi, the leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Kiloview, a leading provider of professional IP video encoding and decoding solutions, t...

08/09/2026

Quortex and NetActuate announce global agreement

Collaboration gives content owners scalable CDN capacity and broadcasters enhanced flexibility, including for C-band transition planning Quortex today announce...

08/09/2026

Orlando Magic, Gray Media Ink Full-Season Broadcast Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/09/2026

Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset Platform

Wuppertal September 8, 2026 Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset PlatformRiedel Communications today announced the launch of its new OnAir headset platform, a...

08/09/2026

flexAI Adds Autonomous Mixing, 12G-SDI, NDI, and TVU MediaMesh Integration

BERLIN, September 8, 2026 - J nger Audio will introduce a major expansion of its flexAI audio processing platform at IBC 2026. The flexAI system adds autonomous...

08/09/2026

Harmonic Unveils cOS SensAI Intelligence Fabric for Broadband Operations

New Vendor-Agnostic Broadband Intelligence Fabric Reduces Operational Complexity and Improves Service Quality for Broadband Service Providers SAN JOSE, Calif. -...

08/09/2026

Arvato Systems Brings TI Expertise to the Stage

Arvato Systems Brings TI Expertise to the Stage Panels, workshops, and real-world examples at the TI-SUMMIT 2026 Arvato Systems, a partner of the TI-SUMMIT 2...

08/09/2026

The internet\u2019s favourite cat comes to Apple\u00A0Arcade with Pusheen\u2019s Place - UPDATE - Posted on 08 September 2026

On October 1, Apple Arcade is rolling out a lineup of fun new games for players ...

07/09/2026

Get to Know This Fall and Winter's Filmmakers Through These 24 Sundance Institute-Supported Films

By Ramona Flume and Lucy Spicer There's a particular kind of magic that hap...

07/09/2026

HeadRush launch the FRFR Cab Series

Two new full-range, flat-response cabinets introduced HeadRush have recently introduced a pair of new full-range, flat-response cabinets designed for player...

07/09/2026

GameSoundCon 2026

Answering questions about AI in game audio GameSoundCon, the largest professional conference for video game music and sound design, have announced that they...

07/09/2026

DPA to launch the 6388 Core+

New directional headset mic on show at IBC Just ahead of this week's IBC show, DPA have announced the launch of a new directional headset that's bee...

07/09/2026

Accurate.Video rallies Iyuno to rework 35,000 media assets ahead of schedule

We are not building systems to replace human decision-making; we are building systems that execute our decisions at machine speed. The media companies that win ...

07/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces New Lower Price for Blackmagic PYXIS 6K and Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K

Blackmagic Design Announces New Lower Price for Blackmagic PYXIS 6K and Blackmag...

07/09/2026

GB Labs to Unveil Core.ONE at IBC2026, an Intelligent Storage Platform for Media Teams

GB Labs to Unveil Core.ONE at IBC2026, an Intelligent Storage Platform for Media...

07/09/2026

Freddie Meredith joins cast of SNL UK ahead of start of Season 2

Monday 7 September 2026 Freddie Meredith joins cast of SNL UK ahead of start of Season 2 Freddie Meredith Images ZIP (3MB) Saturday Night Live UK announces ...

07/09/2026

Sky and NFTS team up to launch new routes into screen careers

Monday 7 September 2026 Sky and NFTS team up to launch new routes into screen careers Sky has today announced a new apprenticeship programme, with application...

07/09/2026

Sky Sports announces most comprehensive NFL coverage to date for the 2026/27 season

Monday 7 September 2026 Sky Sports announces most comprehensive NFL coverage to...

07/09/2026

Jnger Audio Showcases Industry-First S-ADM Cloud Workflow at IBC 2026

Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's first demonstration of Serial Audio Definition Model (S-ADM) in a cloud-based produ...

07/09/2026

dB Broadcast to Showcase APIS Hive at IBC 2026

dB Broadcast will showcase APIS Hive, its software platform for designing, deploying and managing modern broadcast infrastructures, at IBC 2026. Developed from...

07/09/2026

A KNOCKOUT 1.6 MILLION VIEWERS WATCHED KATIE TAYLOR'S FINAL BOUT FREE -TO -AIR ON RT2

552,000 streams on RT Player The historic fight, which saw Katie Taylor become...

06/09/2026

BS-203 MacroAcidizer from Born Second

Recreates Rolands TB-303 & MC-202 BS-203 MacroAcidizer is the first virtual instrument from Born Second, and it offers a recreation of two Roland classics -...

06/09/2026

PlayBox Technology Opens Design Partner Programme for New...

London, UK September 2026 PlayBox Technology is inviting broadcasters, OTT and FAST operators, content owners and media organisations worldwide to become De...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

05/09/2026

HEDD Audio update CTRL software

MK2 & Bass system control app improved HEDD Audio have just launched a new and improved version of the control software that pairs with their MK2 and Bass m...

05/09/2026

CALL FOR ENTRIES IS NOW OPEN FOR THE 20TH ANNUAL SOUTH AFRICAN FILM & TELEVISION AWARDS (SAFTAs20) EXTENDED

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...

05/09/2026

Orlando Magic, Gray Media Ink Ful-Season Broadcast Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/09/2026

YouTube TV Adds ESPN Unlimited

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/09/2026

InSync Brings Conversion Workflow Flexibility to IBC 2026

InSync Technology, the leading provider of premium video conversion solutions, will showcase a new generation of products at IBC 2026, designed to help broadcas...

05/09/2026

GlobalM supports quattro media and World Rowing with Glob...

GlobalM successfully supported quattro media GmbH and World Rowing, the world governing body of the Olympic sport of Rowing, with the international distribution...