WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT SPECIAL LIVE EVENT AND LIVE ON RT RADIO 1 ON FRIDAY 21st OCTOBER
INFO: www.rte.ie/writing
TICKETS: https://www.paviliontheatre.ie/events/view/rte-arena-live
FOLLOW: #rteshortstory
Ten exciting new stories have been shortlisted for the RT Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus 2022, from more than 1,700 entries, RT announces today.
The stories, selected by judges, writers Lisa McInerney, Ferdia McAnna and ilis N Dhuibhne are (in alphabetical order, by title):
A Nice Cup of Tea by Bernard Crowley
Big Why, Little Why by Brendan Killeen
Cherries by Sara Keating
Cn mharlach Uaigneach by Nicola Crean
Fire Starter by Alan McCormick
Fishing for Pike by Antoinette McCarthy
Scrappage by Aingeala Flannery
Strawberry Season by Doreen Finn
The Big House of Nora Toad by Rachel Hynes
The Coast of Africa by Julie Cruickshank
Details on the authors and their shortlisted stories, and our judges, are included below.
All 10 stories will be broadcast and podcast in a season of new writing as part of Late Date on RT Radio 1, weeknights at 11.20pm, from Monday 10th October to Thursday 20th October inclusive (except for Saturday 15th October).
The winning story along with the two other prizewinning stories selected by this year's judges will be announced at a special RT Radio 1 Arena RT Short Story Special live event in the Pavillion Theatre Dun Laoghaire at 7pm on Friday 21st October and broadcast live on RT Radio 1 as part of an Arena special programme.
The RT Radio 1 Arena live event will see host, Se n Rocks and this year's judges, Lisa McInerney, Ferdia MacAnna and ilis N Dhuibhne discuss the art of the short story, review the stories on the shortlist of this year's RT Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus, and announce their overall winners, with live music and performances from leading actors.
For tickets: https://www.paviliontheatre.ie/events/view/rte-arena-live
This year, the top prize has increased to 5,000, while the second and third placed writers will receive 4,000 and 3,000 respectively. A further seven runners-up will receive 250 each.
Leading up to the RT Radio 1 Arena Special, in addition to the broadcast of the stories of Late Debate, the shortlisted stories will all be made available to read on www.rte.ie/culture from Monday 10th October.
Judge for the second year running, Lisa McInerney said: What an invigorating and entertaining process deciding on our shortlist for the 2022 RT Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus. I was really pleased with how the writers approached the brief-it was clear they had thought about this being a story for radio, and so we were delighted to find a host of strong characters, dynamic dialogue and vibrant settings. Our shortlist exemplifies the liveliness, wit, empathy and imagination possible in the short story, and we're really excited to share it.
Judge Ferdia MacAnna said: What a privilege to dive headlong into new work by so many talented writers. These stories take snapshots of modern Ireland in two distinct categories: nuanced evocations of an unsettled country where people struggle to carry on and make sense of their lives in the midst of loss, grief and family dysfunction, and visions of quirky, surreal, bizarre, occasionally hallucinogenic landscapes where anything can happen and does and absolutely nothing is predictable. The writers deliver with fearlessness, wry wit, insight, humour and originality as well as imaginative storytelling.
Judge ilis N Dhuibhne said: It was a true pleasure to read the stories. I was impressed by the original ideas and imagination, the mastery of the craft of composition, and above all, the vitality of the stories. Wonderfully various, there was a great deal of humour in the submissions, light-hearted and viciously dark. Selecting the top ten was not easy. There is so much talent out there! It lifts the heart to encounter it.
Sarah Binchy, series producer said: We're delighted with the range and ambition of this year's stories and can't wait to share them with our listeners. It's a particular treat after the restrictions of the past couple of years to be able to get together in person for our finale, an Arena Short Story Special live broadcast with Se n Rocks at the Pavilion Theatre in D n Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, on Friday 21 October, where we'll hear a flavour of the shortlisted stories in live performance, gain insights from the judges on the short story form and the judging process, meet the shortlisted writers and find out who's won the top prizes.
Set up in 1986 to honour writer and broadcaster Francis MacManus, the RT Short Story Competition has been a critically important launch pad for new and emerging writers in Ireland. Past winners and shortlisted writers include Claire Keegan, Danielle McLaughlin, Anthony Glavin, Chris Binchy, Nuala O'Connor, Liz Nugent, Colin Walsh, Stephen Walsh, Austin Duffy and Sarah Gilmartin.
For more on the RT Short Story Competition, see www.rte.ie/writing.
ABOUT THE SHORTLISTED STORIES AND THEIR AUTHORS
Bernard Crowley
Bernard lives in Balbriggan but is originally from Crumlin and has lived many other places in between. A father of four and a grandfather of three, he describes his work life as working part time for two months of the year (at Christmas) and reading books for the other ten. He has worn many trade hats from shop owner to addiction counsellor and has now added writer to the list. A Nice Cup of Tea is his first published short story.
About Bernard's story, A Nice Cup of Tea
Bernard says: I am very proud of this story It is the whole of my writing career. I have dabbled in poetry all my life but never submitted to public scrutiny. A soundbite
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WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT SPECIAL LIVE EVENT AND LIVE ON RT RADIO 1 ON FRIDAY 21st OCTOBER 
