RTÉ Radio 1 has today invited short story submissions for its Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus.
Judging the entries this year are author Liz Nugent, RTÉ Arts and Media correspondent and author Sinead Crowley, and Declan Meade of The Stinging Fly. Writers will have three months to get their submissions in, with a closing date of Friday May 10th. The shortlisted winners will be announced in September.
Giving her words of encouragement Liz Nugent says “I was shortlisted for the Francis MacManus competition back in 2006. That short story morphed very slowly into my first novel, Unravelling Oliver, and launched my writing career. I had never written a complete short story before then, let alone a full-length novel. I had never attended a creative writing course either. So if you have an idea, write it down. Begin it, and see where the pen takes you. You have nothing to lose”.
The RTÉ Radio 1 Short Story Competition launched in 1986 and winners and shortlisted entries get their stories produced for radio broadcast and voiced by some of Ireland’s most talented and leading actors of the stage and screen. Last year’s winner and runners up were voiced by actors Andrew Bennett, Peter Coonan and Janet Moran.
Teaming up again this year with TheJournal.ie, listeners will be invited to read the top three short stories ahead of their broadcast as part of the Book on One on RTÉ Radio 1.