A SHORTLIST of ten Irish authors has been revealed for an annual short story award.
Judges Aingeala Flannery, Tristan Rosenstock and Jan Carson said whittling down their finalists for the RTÉ Short Story Competition 2026 was “tough” due to the high standards among the 250,000 entries received.
They settled on works by authors Paul Edmondson, Jamie Samson, Cathy Shah, Alison Jameson, Alicia McAuley, John Armstrong, Stephanie O’Connor, John O’Donovan, Rónán Mac Con Iomaire and Kartikay Gupta.
The award, which was launched in 1986 to honour the Irish writer and broadcaster Francis MacManus, is presented annually.
“It was an absolute treat to read the stories on this year’s Francis McManus RTE short story competition,” Ms Carson said.
“The range of perspectives covered, the quality of writing and use of voice was really impressive,’ she added.
“While we had a tough time drawing up the shortlist, the judges were all in ultimate agreement and felt like we had a particularly high-quality group of submissions this year.
RTÉ Short Story Competition 2026 judges Aingeala Flannery, Tristan Rosenstock and Jan Carson“There so much short story writing talent on this island right now.”
Mr Rosenstick said many of the entries they read carried a distinct theme.
“In these unsettling times, a sense of foreboding and apprehension was evident in many of this year’s entries,” he explained.
“Some of our shortlisted stories reflect that, while others deal with grief, loss and the fragility of our mental health.
“But we also see the best of humanity; the kindness of strangers and the courage to take a stand on behalf of those worse off than ourselves.”
He added: This year’s shortlisted writers reaffirm the enduring power of the short story.”
For 2026, which marks the 40th anniversary of the RTÉ Short Story Competition, the ten shortlisted short stories are:
‘A Fork In The Road’ by Paul Edmondson
‘Bubble’ by Jamie Samson
‘Co-Operative’ by Cathy Shah
‘Cottage Pie’ by Alison Jameson
‘Discover: Nature’ by Alicia McAuley
‘Inertia’ by John Armstrong
‘James Langley Was In Love With Sean Harris’ by Stephanie O’Connor
‘Like Clean Windows Kill The Birds’ by John O’Donovan
‘Na Rúisigh’ by Rónán Mac Con Iomaire
‘The Light From Other Places’ by Kartikay Gupta
The winner will be revealed on a special programme set to broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1 and from Poetry Ireland in Dublin at 7pm on October 30.
The winning writer will receive €5k, while the second and third placed writers will receive €4k and €3k respectively.
All seven runners-up will receive €300 each.
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