Flower Wild, a short story by Shane Tivenan, was this evening announced as the winner of the RT Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus, one of Ireland's most significant literary prizes. The announcement was made live on Arena on RT Radio 1 as part of a special programme dedicated to the awards.
Flower Wild, described by the judges as spellbinding and an outstanding piece for radio , takes the form of an imagined interior monologue of Violet Gibson, the Irishwoman who attempted to assassinate Mussolini. Explaining the origins of the story, Shane, from Athlone but currently based in Madrid where he teaches English, said: I came across Violet Gibson when listening to Lisa O'Neill's song about her. I looked into Violet's life more over the following months and found many unknowns. What stories did she need to tell herself before she upped and shot an Italian dictator? Was it possible for her to stay sane in that asylum for three decades? Was she able to make peace with the complete abandonment, with herself, at the end of a life? These questions haunted me into writing Flower Wild.
This is Shane's first published - and broadcast - short story since he took up writing in 2018.
Second place was awarded to Kissing Booth by Alan Walsh from Wicklow town, while The Shape on the Strand by Katherine Duffy, from Dundalk but living in Churchtown, Dublin, was awarded third place. (See details below and in Editors Notes)
As the overall winner, Shane Tivenan will receive 3,000, while 2,000 and 1,000 will be awarded to Alan Walsh and Katherine Duffy respectively. Each of the seven runners-up will receive 250.
All 10 shortlisted stories will be broadcast in a season of new writing on RT Radio 1, starting tonight on Late Date with Cathal Murray at 11.20pm with the winning story, which will be read by Ingrid Craigie.
Second placed, Kissing Booth, is a skewed, brilliant take on this year's global pandemic. Talking about the short story, author Alan Walsh said: Kissing Booth is about inverting a familiar narrative and how that might unexpectedly lead to a utopian conclusion. I've grown very keen on the idea of writing towards a utopia, with the wide range of meanings that word might hold, and how to construct interesting and unexpected ways to get there.
Third placed, The Shape on the Strand is a clever and playful ghost story set on an unnamed Spanish island, involving a translator's transgression and a feathered hat. Author, Katherine Duffy says: The idea of a writer haunting his translator occurred to me when I was abroad, and losing sleep over a difficult literary translation project, just like the main character in the story. But there the link with reality ends and the literary ghost story begins
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.
What the judges said about Flower Wild by Shane Tivenan
An outstanding piece for radio; the narrative voice utterly assured and compelling, the story dramatic and poignant, the structure unerring Vincent Woods
Flower Wild distils a whole life into this demanding art form. Much is handled history, politics, religion and yet it is so well controlled. As a portrait of madness, it utterly compelling and credible Madeleine Keane
A spellbinding piece of historical fiction, Flower Wild presents the story of a particular moment in history, while also encompassing the broader sweep of one Irishwoman's life Danielle McLaughlin
See Editors Notes to see what the judges said about the second and third-placed stories.
Sarah Binchy, producer of the RT Short Story Competition series, said: Our congratulations to the prizewinners and all on the shortlist. These talented writers are literary names to watch. We look forward to bringing their richly imagined stories to a wide audience on the radio and by podcast over the next two weeks.
Broadcast schedule (11.20pm on RT Radio 1 weeknights, as part of Late Date):
Monday 28th September: Flower Wild by Shane Tivenan (Madrid, Spain) read by Jane Brennan
Tuesday 29th September: Kissing Booth by Alan Walsh (Wicklow Town), read by Bl ith n Mac Gabhann
Wednesday 30th September: The Shape on the Strand, by Katherine Duffy (Dublin 14), read by Jane Brennan
Thursday 1st October: Hands; A Downpour, by Aengus Murray (Valencia, Spain), read by Liam Carney
Friday 2nd October: Nead by Ceri Garfield, (Mullach Inis, Co. an Chl ir), read by Br d N Neachtain
Monday 5th October: The Brow of the Hill, by Edel Moloney (Shankill, Co. Dublin), read by Derbhle Crotty
Tuesday 6th October: Everything Will Be Recorded, by Se n Mackel (Muff, Co. Donegal) read by Lalor Roddy
Wednesday 7th October: Beneath the Trees, Where Nobody Sees, by Julie Cruickshank (Dublin 8), read by Cathy Belton
Thursday 8th October: Tactics, by Andrew Maguire (Omagh, Co. Tyrone), read by Ignacy Rybarczyk
Friday 9th October: Guinness & Coke, by Lochlainn McKenna, Cork,read by anna Hardwicke
You can read all 10 shortlisted stories at www.rte.ie/Culture. They will also be available for listen-back and podcast at rte.ie/writing and wherever you get your podcasts.
RT received a record number of entries for this year's competition, with over 4000 short stories being submitted from throughout Ireland, and beyond, before the May deadline. Stay up to date on all things #RTEshortstory with RT on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
ENDS
Editors Notes:
About the winning author, Shane Tivenan
Shane Tivenan is an Irish writer based in Madrid where he teaches English. He has a BA in Anthropology from NUI Maynooth. He began writing fiction in 2018 and was
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Flower Wild, a short story by Shane Tivenan, was this evening announced as the winner of the RT Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus, one of Ireland's most significant literary prizes. The announcement was made live on Arena on RT Radio 1 as part of a special programme dedicated to the awards. 
