RTÉ has announced details of the ten exciting new stories which have been shortlisted for the RTÉ Short Story Competition 2025 in honour of Francis MacManus, from 2,200 entries submitted.
The ten shortlisted short stories were selected by this year's judges, writers Neil Hegarty, Tristan Rosenstock and Jan Carson.
New judge, Jan Carson has described this year's shortlist as "eclectic, captivating and a real snapshot of the issues pertinent in contemporary Ireland". See what all three judges said about this year's stories in the Notes to Editors below.
The shortlisted stories, in alphabetical order by story title 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
Labels, by Mary O'Rourke
Pool Story, by Jill Kenny
Witness, by Lynda McCarthy
Wolves, by Peter McCauley
All ten stories will be published here on RTÉ Culture on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th October, and broadcast over the course of the following two weeks, from Monday 13th October on RTÉ Radio 1’s Late Date, with the stories read by an ensemble of Irish actors.
They’ll also be featured regularly on RTÉ Radio 1’s Arena in advance of the awards event, a special live edition of Arena from the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, at 7pm on Friday 24th October, which all the shortlisted writers are invited to attend.
The event will feature readings of extracts from all ten shortlisted stories, each followed by a discussion with all three judges before they award their top prizes.
The winning writer will receive €5,000, while the second and third placed writers will receive €4,000 and €3,000 respectively. All seven runners-up will receive €250 each.
Tickets for that event are now on sale here.
Sarah Binchy, series producer said: "After a bumper year for entries, I’m delighted with this year’s vibrant shortlist, and looking forward very much to sharing the stories with our listeners, as voiced by our talented actors. I’d also like to acknowledge the sad recent loss of our RTÉ Radio 1 colleague, Arena presenter Seán Rocks. The Arena team have been wonderful partners of this series over the years, culminating in the annual Arena/RTÉ Short Story live awards night in the Pavilion Theatre, and Seán was absolutely central to that, always handling proceedings with his customary warmth, humour, intelligence and grace. We will seek to honour him by continuing this tradition in partnership with the brilliant Arena team, and with our fine judges this year: Neil Hegarty, Jan Carson and Tristan Rosenstock."
Set up in 1986 to honour writer and broadcaster Francis MacManus, the RTÉ 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, Molly McCloskey, Danielle McLaughlin, Anthony Glavin, Chris Binchy, Nuala O’Connor, Liz Nugent, Colin Walsh, Stephen Walsh, Austin Duffy and Sarah Gilmartin.
The RTÉ Short Story Competition is free to enter, and open to any writer over 18 living on the island of Ireland or living abroad who holds an Irish passport. For more on the RTÉ Short Story Competition, go here.
