RT SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2023 OPENS FOR ENTRIES
12,000 PRIZE FUND FOR TOP THREE STORIES
This is an extraordinary, wonderful platform for short story writers of all genres comedy, drama, memoir, speculative fiction, uncategorisable. T fresin f ilte roimh scr bhneoir Gaeilge. Take a chance and plunge in. Beir Bua.
Judge, Ferdia MacAnna
The RT Short Story Competition 2023 in honour of Francis MacManus is back and is now open for entries. Writers have until Friday 26th May to submit their short story to the competition.
This year's entries will be judged by Ferdia MacAnna who returns as a judge along with authors Kathleen MacMahon and Claire Kilroy, both of whom have new books out this year (all pictured).
The winning author will receive 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.
Since its inception over 35 years ago, the RT Short Story Competition has been a critically important launch pad for new and emerging writers in Ireland. Set up in 1986 to honour writer and broadcaster Francis MacManus, the competition recognises and rewards the best new Irish fiction writing for radio. The competition is free to enter and attracts thousands of entries every year.
A shortlist of ten stories will be announced in September, and the top prize winners will be announced on an Arena special programme later in the autumn, broadcast live from the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire. All 10 shortlisted stories will be published on rte.ie/culture and broadcast in a season of new writing on RT Radio 1 in the autumn.
You can listen to and read last year's 10 shortlisted stories here.
What the judges said
Ferdia MacAnna said: I am thrilled to be involved with the RT Short Story / Francis MacManus awards once again. This is an extraordinary, wonderful platform for short story writers of all genres comedy, drama, memoir, speculative fiction, uncategorisable. T fresin f ilte roimh scr bhneoir Gaeilge. Take a chance and plunge in. Beir Bua.
One of the most extraordinary, illuminating and uplifting aspects of being a judge on this competition last year was discovering a short story possessed a radio voice'. The work is brought to vivid, incandescent life by a professional actor. It doesn't alter a story. Instead, it enhances it in captivating, unexpected ways.
Kathleen MacMahon said: A short story is a small doorway, but it opens onto an infinitely wide world. There's no end to the possibilities the short story offers, and I very much look forward to reading what the finalists of the competition make of them. It's a real honour to be asked by the RT Short Story Competition to judge them and a great opportunity for me to learn more about what it is that makes a good story.
Claire Kilroy said: The great thing about being involved with a cultural institution like the RTE Short Story Competition is that, as a judge, you never know what is going to come in. You never know what new voice will be discovered. From a new writer's point of view, it is a pretty unique opportunity to be connected with a large audience.and get your work out there. I'd encourage anyone who has an idea for a short story to go for it.
The RT Short Story Competition has been championing new talent for decades; past winners and shortlisted writers include Claire Keegan, Danielle McLaughlin, Anthony Glavin, Chris Binchy, Nuala O'Connor, Liz Nugent, Colin Walsh and Sarah Gilmartin. Last year's winner was Brendan Killeen for his short story, Big Why, Little Why.
Commenting, Brendan said: Winning the RT Short Story Competition in 2022, was, first and foremost, a huge vote of confidence in my writing. The competition also has a long reach, and I was delighted to receive messages of support from lots of old friends and acquaintances in far flung places as well as from strangers' who connected with the story as well as notice from within the world of Irish literature.
All shortlisted stories are produced for radio and voiced by some of Ireland's most talented actors. In recent years these have included Cathy Belton, Eamon Morrissey, Ali White, Ingrid Craigie, Janet Moran, Kathy Rose O'Brien, Emmet Kirwan and Andrew Bennett.
For competition rules, information on how to enter, and to read and listen to past winning stories, see www.rte.ie/writing.
Series producer Sarah Binchy said: This is a great opportunity for anyone serious about their writing, and almost 40 years on, being placed in this competition in honour of Francis MacManus has become a kind of rite of passage for Irish writers. There's no entry fee, the prize fund is substantial, and you have the chance to have your work read and heard widely on RT Radio 1 and Rte.ie/culture. A particular pleasure unique to this competition is to hear what an experienced actor can do with your words. We look forward very much to this year's stories.
What the judges are looking for
Ferdia advises prospective entrants to: Give me conflict, atmosphere, a curious, significant setting. Character driven dialogue along with a brisk pace. Intrigue, surprise and enthral. Keep the reader at least one step behind. In other words, a tale needs to be unpredictable or at least, artfully disguised so it feels as though we are participating in an unravelling, a revelation.
Kathleen says that: At the risk of stating the obvious, a short story should have a narrative arc, however small. The short stories I love best are the ones that turn on a moment of significance in a person's life. In some ways, the smaller the moment the better. I'm thinking of the Kevin Barry story, Across the Rooftops. It's only a few pages long, but there's great drama to it, as a summer crush draws towar
Most recent headlines
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
RT SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2023 OPENS FOR ENTRIES 
