June Fest Short Story Competition 2020

Here’s Your Chance to Write a Short Story!!

As part of Newbridge June Fest’s online festival, acclaimed author of The Accidental Wife, Full of Grace and The Flight of the Wren, Orla McAlinden, will judge a short story writing competition launched today.

According to Orla

Everyone has a story to tell; everyone is a potential writer. Yet most never tell the stories that could have given them a sense of fulfilment and their readers joy and insights that could have enhanced lives. We Irish are natural storytellers – so here is your chance.

Arrangements for the competition are as follows:

  • Short stories (fiction of any genre) up to 2,000 words to be submitted to junefestshortstory@gmail.com (in MS WORD or pdf format) by 5.00 pm 9 Oct. 2020. Also: full name, residential address, mobile number & Ticket Order Number (see below) to be included with submission.
  • 1st prize (€500), 2nd prize (€250) & 3rd prize (€150). 
  • Writers of the best 10 stories will be invited to a writing workshop conducted by Orla McAlinden later in the year. This workshop is sponsored by the Riverbank Arts Centre.
  • The 3 prize winners and 2 highly commended writers will be invited to record themselves reading their stories for broadcast on June Fest’s Facebook Live.
  • The 3 prize winners will have their stories published in the Leinster Leader.
  • Entries will be confined to the first 50 stories submitted. Depending on the response, further competitions may be commenced. 
  • Competition will be judged by Orla McAlinden, who will read all entries. 
  • Entrants may only submit original unpublished work, but self-published work is eligible. Submissions/entries may not have been published in a recognised format with editorial input. Also, entrants may only submit work to which they have the full authorial rights.
  • Entrants must be 16+ years old and resident in Co Kildare.  Only one short story per entrant.
  • Ticket Order Number: To get a ticket, go to Eventbrite.ie and search for June Fest Short Story Competition (https://bit.ly/2YuwWG0). Once you register for the competition you will receive a ‘ticket’ with an ‘order number’ confirming payment of the €5 entrance fee. Your Ticket Order Number must be provided with your entry – see above.
  • To assist those unsure about how to go about writing an engaging short story, links to material that may be of assistance will be posted on June Fest’s website and Facebook page. Others have been down this road before you and they are willing to share their experience.
  • Competition is being run in collaboration with the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge.
  • Details of competition will be available on June Fest’s website (https://junefest.ie/) & Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/junefestnewbridge/).

Further details on the event are available from June Fest Secretary, Pat O’Mahony, on 087 2304539. 

For tips and resources on how to write a short story click here