Winners of the 25th Anniversary Competition

From the overall entry of 860 stories this year 25 stories were shortlisted – all of which will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 later this year. This year’s first prize winner is Joyce Russell from Bantry, Co. Cork with her short story Fishing For Dreams. The second prize was awarded to Silverfish by Eileen Lynch from South Circular Road, Dublin. The third prize was won by Sheila Mannix from Youghal, Co. Cork with her short story entitled Comfort. Speaking of the competition, Arts and Features Producer, Seamus Hosey, who has been involved in organising the competition since its inception said: “The Francis Mac Manus Short Story Competition has been at the very heart of the creative process of keeping the Irish short story tradition vibrant and exciting. Over the past 25 years the stories broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 have encapsulated and explored the changing face of Ireland, capturing its moods, passions and obsessions. The short story reveals the contemporary world that is too often obscured by current affairs.”

The judges this year were Brendan Barrington, a Senior Editor at Penguin Ireland and Editor and Publisher of The Dublin Review; John Mc Kenna , award winning RTÉ Radio Producer and author of thirteen books – novels, short story collections and non-fiction. His current novel The Space Between Us has been shortlisted for the Kerry Group Book of the Year Award 2010. Eilis Ni Dhuibhne is a member of Aosdana, writes novels and plays, is a winner of several literary awards and teaches Creative Writing at UCD and in the Faber Writing Academy. The awards were presented at a special recording of Arts Tonight with Vincent Woods which is available on the RTE website at www.rte.ie/radio1.

The Francis McManus Short Story Competition is produced by Seamus Hosey & Cliodhna Ni Anluain.

First Prize (€3000) : Fishing for Dreams by Joyce Russell from Bantry, Co. Cork
Joyce spent her childhood in the Yorkshire Dales. She came to the mountains of West Cork in 1978 for a holiday which extendended into a stay of over 30 years.
Joyce has won several prizes for her short stories. These include: 3rd prize in the Francis MacManus competition in 2003; winner of the Sean O’Faolain Short Story Award; winner of the START chapbook prize; and winner of the Real Writers International Award, among others. She hopes to have a short story collection in print, along with a novel or two, in the years ahead.

Second Prize (€2000): Silverfish by Eileen Lynch from South Circular Road, Dublin
Eileen grew up in Shannon, Co. Clare and lived in Tokyo and then London for a while. She has been based in Dublin for the past number of years. She studied Communications Studies in Dublin City University and followed this with a Masters in Equality Studies from UCD. She then worked as a film festival co-ordinator in the Irish Film Institute for a time in the 1990s and since then has worked in education, specifically in the area of widening access to education. Eileen is a slow writer but is an athlete when it comes to reading

Third Prize (€1000): Comfort by Sheila Mannix from Youghal, Co. Cork
Sheila Mannix is from Youghal, Co. Cork. She graduated from UCC in 1986 with a degree in English & French and has since lived between Cork and London. She completed a Masters degree in Screenwriting & Screen Research at the London College of Printing. She has worked as a freelance production assistant and producer of short films and was Head of Development for several years for Catherine Bailey Ltd - an independent supplier of radio drama for BBC Radio 3 & Radio 4 - where she worked on the script for David Cronenberg's film 'Spider'. She has also worked as a bookseller and cinema manager. She has published poetry and short stories in Cyphers, Poetry Now, Microbe and Karnival magazine.

The awards were presented at a special recording of Arts Tonight with Vincent Woods which is available on the RTE website at www.rte.ie/radio1