![](//www.4rfv.com/images/no_image.jpg)
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
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
26/07/2024
by Ianeta Le'i
I honestly don't remember the first time I met Bryson Ch...
26/07/2024
(L-R) Louise (Karen Gillan) and Antonina (Margaret Sophie Stein) strike up an un...
26/07/2024
Last month, Spotify's annual Songs of Summer predictions made their return, ...
26/07/2024
Summer is peak season for some of our favorite sports and events. Whether you're rooting for the home team at the ballpark or cheering for your country as i...
26/07/2024
Nine talented young professionals completed their vocational training at SGL Carbon in Meitingen from the beginning of June to mid-July, achieving an overall gr...
26/07/2024
Orders1 of $5.2 billion; book-to-bill of 1.0x
Revenue of $5.3 billion, up 13%
...
26/07/2024
(Editor's note: TVTech reached out to several station groups to determine the impact of the CrowdStrike outage on operations. Many, including NextStar Media...
26/07/2024
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. Bitcentral has integrated Pixalate's ad fraud protection, privacy and compliance analytics solution Post-Bid Analytics and Reporting i...
26/07/2024
Aldous Huxley's classic novel Brave New World is a science fiction thriller set in a murky future with a highly ordered society. While Huxley and other sc...
26/07/2024
Hollyland Adds Pyro 7 All-in-one Video Monitor, TX and RX to Pyro Series
Brie Clayton July 26, 2024
0 Comments
Seven-inch 2.4/5GHz wireless monitor wi...
26/07/2024
Geddy Lee Asks Are Bass Players Human Too? Graded Using DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton July 26, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic today announced that t...
26/07/2024
Another reminder of the popularity of ad-supported connected TV comes in a survey by Premion and Advertiser Perceptions which found that 61% of the marketers th...
26/07/2024
Nielsen's Gracenote unit said it is selling its metadata about the content of television shows and movies for use in targeting connected-TV advertising camp...
26/07/2024
CBS premieres 13 Days in Ferguson, a special about the aftermath of a police shooting of a young Black man in 2014, on Friday, August 9. The special features Ce...
26/07/2024
Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery announced the launch of their long-awaited premium streaming bundle for the United States. For $16.99 per month, subscribers w...
26/07/2024
It provides multi-voltage output (14.4V, 28V, and 48V) through two XLR4 outputs and one XLR3, offering power to cameras, monitors, and lighting equipment
By Je...
26/07/2024
The lawsuit submitted by investor Scott Baker claims the deal would cost Paramount shareholders $1.65 billion
By Jenny Priestley
Published: July 26, 2024
...
26/07/2024
Florida-based Video Village Miami provides on-set video assist for local commercials and music videos. Frank Collins established the outfit in 2019 after a 20-y...
26/07/2024
QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, will present QuickLink StudioPro at IBC 2024 (Stand ...
26/07/2024
Relo Metrics (formerly GumGum Sports), the leading AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform for real-time data decisions, today launched an industry-leading in...
26/07/2024
Anton/Bauer, a leading provider of mobile power systems for the film and television industry, has announced the launch of the VCLX LI 1600. The latest evolution...
26/07/2024
Bitcentral, the leading provider of professional media solutions for broadcast and digital video, today announces that it has integrated Pixalate, the ad fraud ...
26/07/2024
Cobalt Iron Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced that Secure Automated Backup with Compass , a cloud backup-as-a-s...
26/07/2024
VisualOn IBC2024 Exhibitor Preview
Sept. 13-16
Amsterdam
Stand 5.A52
As video streaming consumption surges, service providers face significant challenges wi...
26/07/2024
Quanteec
IBC2024 Exhibitor Preview
Sept. 13-16
RAI Amsterdam
Stand 1.A05
Quanteec, a global provider of video delivery technology for broadcasters, will s...
26/07/2024
Witbe
IBC2024 Exhibitor Preview
Sept. 13-16
Amsterdam
Stand 5.F84
At IBC2024, Witbe will showcase the power of its automated testing and proactive monitori...
26/07/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Federal Communications Commission has announced the launch of its new Mobile Speed Test app. The new app features an enhanced user interfac...
26/07/2024
LONDON In a notable landmark for the use of cloud-based services at the Olympics, Alibaba Cloud and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), has today announced the...
26/07/2024
NEW YORK As part of a $2.5 billion media rights deal with the NBA announced on July 24, NBCUniversal and the NBA have also announced an 11-year agreement for ri...
26/07/2024
BEAVERTON, Ore. Versatile Video Coding (VVC) promises to play a pivotal role in driving advancements in video compression technology, with organizations across ...
26/07/2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio The political news channel PurpleTV has expanded it reach with news that it has launched on Channel 25.1 in Columbus, Ohio on TV Station WXOH, wh...
26/07/2024
NEW YORK As part of a push into the contextual advertising business, Nielsen's Gracenote has announced that it is developing new contextual categories to gi...
26/07/2024
Puget Systems Returns to SIGGRAPH 2024 to Demonstrate its On-Premises Generative...
26/07/2024
Dreamtek Delivers Innovative A/V, Live Production and Post Workflows with Blackm...
26/07/2024
Dejero to bring even smarter' mobile internet connectivity solutions to IBC...
26/07/2024
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are about to begin, and Capitol Broadcasting is rea...
26/07/2024
Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2024 Emmy Awards Twenty-one Berklee alumni received Emmy nominations this year for music composition, sound mixing, and sound editi...
26/07/2024
Jennifer Lyons, president and general manager of WBBM Chicago, is moving into a ...
26/07/2024
Kennan Oliphant has been named VP of news and station manager at WWJ Detroit. He will report to Jennifer Lyons, who has added a regional GM role that gives her ...
26/07/2024
Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose, a four-part docuseries, debuts on HBO and Max July 24. The series details the life of the baseball superstar, includin...
26/07/2024
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games present a unique and exciting opportunity for local...
26/07/2024
Paris 2024: V varo Providing Live Media Transport Services for Leading Internati...
26/07/2024
Paris 2024: BBC Sport on Its Remote Production Workflow for the Summer Games By Heather McLean, SVG Europe
Friday, July 26, 2024 - 7:31 am
Print This Story...
26/07/2024
Paris 2024: BBC Sport Unveils the Olympic Storytelling and Breathtaking Scenery ...
26/07/2024
Paris 2024: Taking a Step Forwards with BBC Sport's Olympic Studio Combining...
26/07/2024
Paris 2024: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe Provides a First Look at Its Ol...
26/07/2024
Live From Paris 2024: NBC Olympics Set for Historic Opening Ceremony Unilateral coverage builds on impressive OBS production as NBC dives deep into Team USA cov...
26/07/2024
Live From Paris 2024: SVG's Onsite Editorial Team Breaks Down Opening Ceremo...
26/07/2024
True-crime documentary, The Body Next Door to launch on Sky Documentaries and NO...