Announcement ofselected authors for the Short Story Competition 2025 on our website
The RTE Short Story Competition, established in 1986 in honour of writer and broadcaster Francis MacManus, has shortlisted ten captivating stories for this year's event. The competition, which is free to enter and open to any writer over 18 living on the island of Ireland or abroad who holds an Irish passport, has received 2,200 entries.
The ten shortlisted stories, selected by judges Neil Hegarty, Tristan Rosenstock, and new judge Jan Carson, are a diverse and engaging collection. They will be published on RTE Culture on October 11th and 12th, and broadcast on RTE Radio 1's Late Date from October 13th.
The titles of the shortlisted stories, in alphabetical order, are: "A Spectrum of Sorrow" by Angela Finn, "Auntie and Anto and Ivy and Ava" by Ian Feighery, "Corrán na Maidine" (Irish language) by Niall Ó Siadhail, "Feeding Time" by Sinèad Troy, "It Must Have Come First" by Sage Omar, "Kazakhstan" by Kevin McDermott, and "Labels" by Mary O'Rourke.
The winning writer will receive €5,000, the second-place writer €4,000, and the third-place writer €3,000. All seven runners-up will receive €250 each. The awards event will take place at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, on October 24th, and all shortlisted writers are invited to attend.
Sarah Binchy, series producer, expressed her excitement about the shortlist and looked forward to sharing the stories with listeners. The stories will be read by an ensemble of Irish actors, and the event will feature readings of extracts from all ten shortlisted stories, followed by discussions with the judges.
Tickets for the awards event are now on sale. The event will also feature readings of the shortlisted stories on RTE Radio 1's Arena in advance of the awards event. Past winners and shortlisted writers include Claire Keegan, Molly McCloskey, Danielle McLaughlin, Anthony Glavin, Chris Binchy, Nuala O'Connor, Liz Nugent, Colin Walsh, Stephen Walsh, Austin Duffy, and Sarah Gilmartin.
Jan Carson, one of the judges, described this year's shortlist as "eclectic, captivating, and a real snapshot of the issues pertinent in contemporary Ireland." The RTE Short Story Competition 2025 promises to be an exciting celebration of Irish storytelling.
