John O’Connor Short Story Competition – 2017

The world of John O’Connor is a world of the freshly snedded turnip, the new-sawn plank, the sod shining under the plough. His gift is to render the life of the Mill Row in Armagh as deftly and definitively as Steinbeck renders Cannery Row or Bob Dylan Desolate Row – Paul Muldoon

Entries are invited from aspiring writers for the second John O’Connor Short Story Competition. It is being held to commemorate the Armagh-born writer whose impressive literary legacy includes a collection of short stories which still retain a timeless appeal.

The prize-winner will be awarded a bursary to attend the John O’Connor Writing School and Literary Arts Festival which will be held in Armagh from 2nd to 5th November, 2017.

The festival, sponsored and supported by internationally renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Paul Muldoon, has a two-fold purpose. It aims to celebrate and commemorate the life and works of John O’Connor as well as offering practical guidance and assistance to aspiring writers through its workshops and Master classes in the various literary genres and writing for commercial purposes.

The competition will close at 12.00 noon on 1st October 2017. Entries received after this date and time will not be considered. A four-person panel will adjudicate, including writers Martina Devlin and Stuart Neville.