RT SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2023 WINNERS ANNOUNCED
MR HOO' BY JOHN O'DONNELL WINS FIRST PRIZE OF 5,000
It's a fabulous thing to read and fall in love with a story Judge, Ferdia MacAnna
TESSA AND VIVIANE' BY JULIE CRUICKSHANK WINS SECOND PRIZE OF 4,000
BREATHE' BY ROBIN LIVINGSTONE WINS THIRD PRIZE OF 3,000
AT SPECIAL LIVE EVENT AND LIVE ON AN ARENA SPECIAL ON RT RADIO 1
www.rte.ie/writing | www.rte.ie/Culture | #rteshortstory
Mr Hoo' by John O'Donnell, an exquisite and touching story about an easily-led, bird-loving young fellow's trip to the dark side - and subsequent redemption, in the words of the judges, has been announced as the winning story in this year's RT Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus. The announcement was made at a special RT Radio 1 Arena RT Short Story Special live programme hosted by Sean Rocks in the Pavillion Theatre Dun Laoghaire and broadcast live on RT Radio 1.
The winning stories were selected by writers Ferdia MacAnna, Kathleen MacMahon and Claire Kilroy.
As winner, John O'Donnell received a cheque for 5,000.
Second Prize went to Tessa and Viviane' by Julie Cruickshank who was presented with a cheque for 4,000, while Third Prize went to Breathe' by Robin Livingstone who was presented with a cheque for 3,000. The seven runners-up received 250 each.
Commenting on this year's judging, Kathleen MacMahon said: Choosing the winner from the richness of the ten stories on the shortlist was daunting, but it was storytelling that prevailed in the end these three came closest to perfection.
Ferdia MacAnna said: This is my second stint as a judge and once again it was a privilege to dive headlong into new work by so many talented writers. It was illuminating to hear the works brought to vivid technicolour life by the reading of talented actors. The 10 shortlisted stories are composed with craft, wry wit, insight, humour and originality as well as fearless storytelling. If there is a theme in these marvellous visions, then in my view it's this: the stories chronicle aspects of LOVE in so many of its shapes and forms. Beautiful, touching, funny, well-crafted visions of imagination and beauty. Long Live Love.'
Claire Kilroy said: It was thought-provoking and fascinating and a thoroughly satisfying experience. As writers, we came to this with different tastes. Yet, when we sat down to judge the written stories, we were unanimous in our verdict, and when we came together a second time to discuss the recorded stories, we were again unanimous. I loved the process because it proved that literary quality shines.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID ABOUT MR HOO'
Ferdia MacAnna said: This is the work of a talented, visionary writer. The gullible protagonist Bird' is a truly memorable creation. I didn't want this story to finish.
Kathleen MacMahon said: An exquisite story, it had everything I want as a reader. From the little bit of mystery at the beginning (Mr Hoo?) to the lovely voice of the boy and his romantic notions. I enjoyed the raucous wit, the comedy, and the tension. There's depth in the story, when the mother tells him he's a good boy I found that very moving. And of course, it lands with the most beautiful image at the end. A beautiful story of a good lad who seeks flight but gets caged. We all loved this story, so it was easy to choose it as the winner.
Claire Kilroy said: It's exhilarating to see a story built around a metaphor, that of a bird, which is sustained beautifully but never overplayed, and lands in the closing lines with such grace.
WHAT KATHLEEN MacMAHON SAID ABOUT TESSA AND VIVIANE'
This story is brilliantly crafted, taking the mother's life backwards from her first appearance as a very boho corpse, to her final apparition as a little girl untouched by life. The daughter is lost and looking for purpose, but even this is denied by the mother's precipitous death. The daughter's voice is sassy and unsentimental. I loved the mother's voice too, in all its colour. The little details are beautifully observed. The story of a complicated life, it rings gloriously true.
WHAT CLAIRE KILROY SAID ABOUT BREATHE'
This writer has an uncanny ability to alight on details that are so authentic as to put the reader there. He has imagined himself fully into his young protagonist's shoes or his boots, rather, his red Doc Marten boots of which he is so proud. With exceptional pacing, the reader (or listener) is hurtled from the young man's body into his head as he panics on the operating table. In capturing the claustrophobia of a being unable to breathe, the writer captures the claustrophobia of Belfast during the riot years.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS OF THE PRIZEWINNING STORIES
First Prize: Mr Hoo
John O'Donnell is a writer and a lawyer. His work has been published and broadcast in Ireland and abroad. Awards include the Irish National Poetry Prize, and the New Irish Writing Awards for Poetry and Fiction. He has published five poetry collections. His collection of short stories Almost the Same Blue was longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Rainbow Baby, a play for radio, was broadcast on RTE's Drama On One and won a prize at the New York Festivals Radio Awards. He lives and works in Dublin.
About the story: John says: Mr Hoo is loosely based on a real case; I still remember the late Professor Nial Osborough recounting the grisly facts to us in First Year Criminal Law. As a kid, the need to belong is overpowering; you'll do nothing your parents ask of you, but you'll do anything for your friends.
Second Prize: Tessa and Viviane
Originally from Galway, Julie Cruickshank lives and works in Dublin. This is her third time to be shortli
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
RT SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2023 WINNERS ANNOUNCED 
