RTÉ – IRELAND’S NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA published this video item, entitled “Mamó, by Sara Keating | Shortlisted for the 2021 RTÉ Short Story Competition.” – below is their description.
Mamó, by Sara Keating is one of the 10 shortlisted stories for the 2021 RTÉ Short Story Competition.
All 10 stories will be broadcast and podcast in a season of new writing as part of Late Date on RTÉ Radio 1, weeknights at 11.20pm, from Monday 27 September to Friday 8 October inclusive, starting with the winning story.
That winning story will be announced earlier the same evening along with the two other prizewinning stories selected by this year’s judges on an Arena special programme at 7pm on RTÉ Radio 1. The winning author will receive €3,000.
As part of this Arena special programme, presenter Seán Rocks and the judges, Lisa McInerney, Lucy Caldwell and Declan Hughes will discuss all the stories on the shortlist, with audio clips and interviews with some of the writers before the judges announce their top prizes.
Leading up to the Arena special and the broadcast series, from Wednesday 22 September on the shortlisted stories will all be made available to read on from Wednesday 22 September on.www.rte.ie/culture.
Judge Lisa McInerney says: “It’s definitely been a highlight of lockdown life for me — reading exciting new work, then hearing stories we’d already connected with brought into even more vivid colour by the actors’ performances, and then discussing them, sharing our different perspectives on them, and together finding our way to our very worthy winners. Judging this competition has been a privilege and a pleasure.”
Fellow judge, Declan Hughes says: “Perhaps not surprisingly, given the times we’ve been living in, the stories for the most part paint a picture of an anxious, unsettled country, haunted by its past and fearful for its future. They do this with wit and compassion through imaginative storytelling, nuanced characterisation, persuasive dialogue and finely weighted sentences.”
Producer of the series, Sarah Binchy said: “We’re very much looking forward to sharing this fine season of new writing with a wide audience, as voiced by some of Ireland’s leading actors. You can tune in to Arena on Monday 27th September to get a flavour of the shortlist and hear the judges choose their overall winners; read the stories in advance on rte.ie/culture, and then listen live – or podcast at leisure – weeknights from Monday 27th September on.”
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, Danielle McLaughlin, Anthony Glavin, Chris Binchy, Nuala O’Connor, Liz Nugent, Colin Walsh, Stephen Walsh and Sarah Gilmartin.
For more on the RTÉ Short Story Competition, see www.rte.ie/writing.
RTÉ – IRELAND’S NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA YouTube Channel
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