Writer Aingeala Flannery from Tramore is among ten writers whose exciting new stories have been shortlisted from more than 1,700 entries for the RTÉ Short Story Competition.
Aingeala is a writer, journalist, and broadcaster.
In 2018, her story Kamikaze was shortlisted in the RTÉ Francis MacManus Short Story Competition.
She completed an MFA in Creative Writing at UCD the following year, and was awarded a Literature Bursary by the Arts Council of Ireland in 2020 and 2021.
Her debut novel 'The Amusements' was published by Penguin Sandycove in June 2022 and she is currently working on her second novel.
Speaking about her story 'Scrappage', Aingeala says:
“Scrappage is a story about memory and loss. I’m intrigued by cast off objects, in charity shops, auctions and especially in household skips. When people bought and owned fewer things, their belongings told a story. The narrator clears out her dead parents’ house and tells their story by filling a skip with things nobody wants. When the job is done she comes across a fixture in the house that hides a family secret she cannot cast off…”
All 10 stories will be broadcast and podcast in a season of new writing as part of Late Date on RTÉ Radio 1 from Monday 10th October to Thursday 20th October inclusive (except for Saturday 15th October). The stories will also be available on www.rte.ie/culture from Saturday 8th October.
The winning story along with the two other prizewinning stories selected by this year’s judges will be announced at a special RTÉ Radio 1 Arena RTÉ Short Story Special live event in the Pavillion Theatre Dun Laoghaire on Friday 21st October. They will also be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1 as part of an Arena special programme.
The RTÉ Radio 1 Arena live event will see host, Seán Rocks and this year’s judges, Lisa McInerney, Ferdia MacAnna and Éilis Ní Dhuibhne discuss the art of the short story, review the stories on the shortlist of this year’s Short Story Competition and announce their overall winners, with live music and performances from leading actors.
This year, the top prize has increased to €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.
The competition was set up in 1986 to honour writer and broadcaster Francis MacManus and has been a launch pad for new and emerging writers in Ireland since.
Past winners and shortlisted writers include Claire Keegan, Danielle McLaughlin, Anthony Glavin, Chris Binchy, Nuala O’Connor, Liz Nugent, Colin Walsh, Stephen Walsh, Austin Duffy and Sarah Gilmartin.
For more on the RTÉ Short Story Competition, see www.rte.ie/writing.
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