Short Story Competition 2025

SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2025

Sponsored by Bridge St and Mayo Books Press

**Eimear McBride is this year’s short story competition judge.**

As part of the 2025 Wild Atlantic Words festival, our annual short story competition will include a reading and prize-giving ceremony in the Festival Dome at Bridge St, Castlebar, Co. Mayo on Friday, 10th October. The results of this year’s short story competition will be announced on the night.

Judge: Eimear McBride
First prize: €500
Second prize: €250

Judge: Eimear McBride

Eimear McBride is the author of four novels: A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, The Lesser Bohemians, Strange Hotel, and The City Changes Its Face. She held the inaugural Creative Fellowship at the Beckett Research Centre, University of Reading, resulting in the performance text ‘Mouthpieces’. Her full-length, non-fiction work, Something Out of Place: Women & Disgust was published in 2021. In 2022, she wrote and directed ‘A Very Short Film About Longing’ (DMC Films/BBC), which was selected for screening at the 2023 London Film Festival. She is the recipient of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Goldsmiths Prize, Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, Kerry Prize, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

**2021 Wild Atlantic Words short story winner Michelle Coyne, runner-up Jordan Lilis, judge JP McHugh, and writer Sally Rooney at the reading and prize-giving ceremony in Castlebar, Co. Mayo.**

**2019 winner Eamon McGuinness receiving his prize from Wild Atlantic Words committee member and short story competition sponsor, Kevin Swift of** Bridge St

**2020 short story competition winner Chris Kennedy**

Wild Atlantic Words short story competition co-sponsors, Kevin Swift of Bridge St and David Brennan of Mayo Books Press, with 2022 judge Elizabeth Reapy, winner Andrew Maguire, and runner-up Mattie Brennan at the reading and prize-giving event in the Festival Dome on Friday, 7 October 2022.

**2024 WAW Short Story Competition Winner:** Madeleine D’Arcy from Cork, reading an excerpt from her story at the prize-giving event in the Festival Dome. Also on stage is Sally Rooney, who stood in for judge Mike McCormack on the night.

At the Wild Atlantic Words short story reading and prize-giving event in the Festival Dome on Friday, 11 October 2024, are (from left): runners-up, Rory M. Duffy and Niall Kitson; winner, Madeleine D’Arcy and competition co-sponsors, David Brennan of Mayo Books Press and Kevin Swift of Bridge St. *Picture: John Mee Photography*

**2023 judge, Donal Ryan with runners-up, Gabrielle Nally, Beth Kilkenny, Olivia Rana and winner, Jane Babb**

RESULTS 2024 – Judge: Mike McCormack

First prize: ‘Mr Stenworth’s Slippers’ – Madeleine D’Arcy (Cork)

Runners-up: ‘Black Habits’ – Rory M. Duffy (Co. Westmeath); ‘Frequency’ – Niall Kitson (Dublin)

The following stories also made the shortlist (in no particular order): ‘Red’ – Aoife Hargadon (Co. Sligo); ‘The Retreat’ – Brid Connolly (Co. Kildare); ‘Bobby Hospital’ – John Armstrong (Co. Mayo); ‘The Wine Bar’ – Leo Cullen (Dublin)

RESULTS 2023 – Judge: Donal Ryan

First prize: ‘Must-Haves’ – Jane Babb (Dublin)

Runners-up: ‘The Refugee Hotel’ – Olivia Rana (Co. Antrim); ‘Everyone is Amazed’ – Beth Kilkenny (Dublin); ‘Fágáil/Leaving’ – Gabrielle Mhic an Fhailigh (Co. Galway)

RESULTS 2022 – Judge: Elizabeth Reapy

First prize: ‘White Lies’ – Andrew Maguire (Co. Tyrone). Runner-up: ‘Dead Bait’ – Mattie Brennan (Co. Sligo).

The following stories also made the shortlist: ‘Beauties of Bath’ – Leo Cullen (Co. Dublin); ‘An Encounter’ – David Butler (Co. Wicklow); ‘Stewsday’ – Bryan Conlon (Co. Cork)

RESULTS 2021 – Judge: JP McHugh

First prize: ‘Scale’ – Michelle Coyne (Galway). Runner-up: ‘Waiting’ – Jordan Lillis (Galway)

The following stories also made the shortlist: ‘25th December 2022’ – Rachel Gough (Cork); ‘Composition No.49’ – Alicia McAuley (Antrim); ‘Still Life’ – Sree Sen (Mayo); ‘De Last Snayke In Urland’ – Eoghan Collins (Dublin)

RESULTS 2020 – Judge: Lisa McInerney

First prize: ‘Farmer Wife’ – Chris Kennedy (Sligo). Runners-up: ‘A Bit Part’ – Ryan Wiles (Antrim) and ‘Envy’ – Kevin Dardis (Dublin & Germany)

The following stories also made the shortlist: ‘It Would Be Nice To See You’ – Emma Flynn (Kerry); ‘Legacy’ – Rosie Cowan (Antrim); ‘The Stray’ – Kate Phelan (Wexford); ‘The Blue Star’ – Aoibheann McCann (Galway)

RESULTS 2019 – Judges: Thomas Morris & Wendy Erskine

First prize: ‘Everyone Here Has A Story’ – Eamon McGuinness (Dublin); Second prize: ‘'98, '99’ – Grahame Williams (Down)

The following stories also made the shortlist: ‘A Stone's Throw Away’ – Róisín McPhilemy (Down); ‘Baby Blue’ – Adam O’Keeffe (Cork); ‘Scorched Earth’ – David Butler (Wicklow); ‘The Test’ – Rose Keating (Cork)