June Fest National Short Story Competition

The competition has now closed for entries and we received an amazing level of interest with nearly 180 short stories being submitted. The shortlist of ten finalists is listed below:

Aftermath by James Butler

James Butler was born in Brixham, England but now lives in Ballymena. Outside of writing (and reading) he enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar and exploring the hills and mountains of the UK and Ireland. 'Aftermath' is his first story.

A Week of Rain by Brid McGinley

Bríd McGinley writes short fiction and creative non-fiction. Winner of the 2022 Benedict Kiely Short Story Competition. Her work has appeared in The Bangor Literary Journal, Sonder Magazine, The Honest Ulsterman, The Bramley, FlashFlood, and Splonk among others and forthcoming in Midnight Ireland. She lives in Co Donegal.

Before The Tide Comes In by Conor Orr

Conor Orr is a 28-year-old writer based in Dublin, where they work in financial services. Much of their writing is inspired by Donegal, where they have been visiting their family’s holiday home in Gweedore since childhood. A lifelong lover of literature, film, and tennis, they have been writing for ten years.

Discharge by Tara Phelan

Tara is a fiction writer living and working in Kildare who has dreamed of writing a book since she was a child. She is a member of the Ink Tank creative writing group in Newbridge. She hopes to eventually trade her day job for more time reading and writing.

Doll Face by Sinead Ingoldsby

Sinéad Ingoldsby writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her essays have featured on RTÉ’s Sunday Miscellany, in Ragaire and The Irish Times. Her novel Single White Fenian won the 2024 Irish Writers’ Centre Novel Fair. Sinéad graduated with a first-class honours MA in Creative Writing from UL. She is currently working on her second novel.

Hot Knife by Heather Bruton

Heather Bruton is a writer from Dublin and Basel, Switzerland. She holds a Master’s degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature from Trinity College Dublin and currently works in communications. She reads constantly and writes when she can.

The Binoculars by Eamonn Doggett

Eamon Doggett is from Bettystown, Meath. His stories have been published in The London Magazine, The Irish Times, Southword and Channel, among others. He has won the Hennessy First Fiction Award, the From the Well Short Story Anthology and the Sylvia O’Brien Prize. He lives in Galway.

The Cubicle by Rosanna Roche

Rosanna Roche is a literary fiction writer from Kilkenny. She explores the events and emotional threads that bind relationships. Her work has been featured in Sparks Literary Journal, shortlisted for Flash 500, and longlisted for Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction and Frazzled Lit Short Story Award. She enjoys marathon running.

The Perfect Nest by Jeanne Beary

Jeanne Beary’s name is rarely pronounced correctly. She has written numerous short stories which have been broadcast and included in anthologies. A teacher by day, she joins the ranks of superheroes each evening, feeding and housing young people and providing taxi services to their many engagements (also known as parenting). Her novel is due to follow shortly after their eviction.

Strangers by Ann Neary

Ann Neary lives in County Meath. She took up writing during the Covid lockdowns.  She is a member of Aspired Writers, a Kells based writing group. Ann has been published in Sparks and The Four Faced Liar. She was ‘highly commended’ during the 2025 Irish Writers Centre’s International Debut Novel Competition.

Award Ceremony

The ten shortlisted writers have been asked to attend the June Fest Literary event in the Riverbank, Newbridge on Sunday June 7th, 2026. The winner and runner-up will be announced at this evening event (see June Fest programme for details) and they will be invited to read an extract from the winning story.

 2026 Judge

John MacKenna - John is the author of twenty-six books—novels, short-stories, memoir, biography and poetry. He has also written a number of stage and radio plays and is a frequent contributor to RTE Radio 1. He is a winner of the Hennessy New Writing Award, the Irish Times Fiction Award and the Cecil Day Lewis Literary Award; his novel The Space Between Us was shortlisted for the Kerry Book of the Year Award. He was recently nominated for the position of Irish Fiction Laureate. His latest book, The Lock-Keeper’s Wife, published by Lilliput Press, was launched in February 2026.

Prizes

1st Prize

One week’s fully-catered week in residence at  Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig for the winning writer only (worth €490) - this does not include any travel costs.

2nd Prize

A workshop of your choice at the Kildare Writing Centre.