James Plunkett Short Story Award 2014

Following the great success of the 2013 competition,the Irish Writers' Union, in association with the Irish Writers' Centre, are very pleased to announce the launch of the 2014 James Plunkett Short Story Award.The judge for the 2014 competition will be Booker and IMPAC nominee Donal Ryan. The Irish Writers' Union is delighted to continue celebrating the legacy of Plunkett, one of our founder members, through this competition. There is no restriction on theme or genre. Entrants are simply asked to recall Plunkett's skill as a social commentator when writing. First Prize: €2000 Second Prize: €1000 Third Prize: €500 Closing Date for Entries: Friday, September 12th The Grand Final will be held in the Irish Writers' Centre on Wednesday, November 4th (date TBC) Entries should be between 1000 and 3000 words and should be sent to: The Irish Writers' Union 19 Parnell Square Dublin 1 There is no limit on the number of submissions an entrant can make. Entry costs €10 per submission (please make cheques payable to the Irish Writers' Union). Photos of the 2013 evening A Long List of 30 entries will be published on the website of the Irish Writers' Union before the winning entrants will be selected. FAQs: Q: What format should I use? A: Ideally typed, double spaced and bound with a single staple in the corner. The name of the Author should not appear on the story, but on a separate cover sheet. Q: Is there an entry form? A: No - but the cover sheet should include the story title, author's name and contact details (telephone no, address and email). The cover sheet should also contain the word count. Q: How will I find out the results? A: The Irish Writers' Union will email all entrants that provide email addresses to confirm receipt of entry (though this may take a little time as we are a voluntary organisation!). We will then also email with the long list and the short list when announced. The Long List will also be published on our website. Q: How will I find out the shortlist? A: The three stories that make the final shortlist will be announced in advance. The prizes themselves i.e., the story that won first, second and third, will be announced on Wednesday, November 4th by Donal Ryan. Q: What languages are accepted? A: We will accept entries in English and Irish. Q: If I am on the final shortlist of three, what can I expect? A: All shortlisted authors will be asked to read their stories on the night of the final (we will pay a reading fee of €100 to each). Thus, attendance at the event is expected. At this point, we have yet to confirm publication of the shortlisted stories but if we manage to put together such a deal, it will be announced in advance. Q: Are there any other perks of entry? A: The Irish Writers' Union will - in the months following the competition - put together a pdf ebook on tips and hints that will be of use to short story writers. We will use the experience of the competition to see what hints and tips we judge would be of most use to entrants generally. This will, simply, be emailed free to any entrant who provides their email address on entry. It is hoped that this will be a benefit to the art of short story writing in Ireland generally. Q: Is there a theme? A: No. James Plunkett had a wonderful empathy in his writing. We are not looking to unearth another James Plunkett and we are not looking for entrants to write lost chapters of Strumpet City! We simply ask that you think of him, of his empathy and of his skill as a social commentator when writing. Neither is the Plunkett Award limited to any genre. Q: Anything else? A: We ask for your patience. We are a voluntary organization simply trying to provide a writing opportunity. There may be hic-coughs - but we will do what we can to resolve them.