Hugo Kelly from Westport, is among 10 writers from almost 2,800 entries to be shortlisted for the RTÉ Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus.
Life, death and zoom calls, culture clashes and suburban turf wars, success, failure, and love through the ages are among the themes which feature at the centre of the ten exciting new stories shortlisted.
The stories “paint a picture of an anxious, unsettled country, but do so with wit and compassion, imaginative storytelling and nuanced characterisation”, according to judge Declan Hughes.
Westport native Hugo lives in Galway where he works as a librarian in NUIG. He has won a number of prizes for his stories including the Cúirt Writing Award and has twice been shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Awards. His work has been published in the Stinging Fly and broadcast on RTE Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4.
His story "We all Must be Kind" tells the tale of an isolated man, still grieving the loss of his parents, who ruffles feathers on his work Zoom calls by dressing outlandishly. Hugo said: "At heart, my story is about the shock of isolation as experienced through the pandemic and a kind of self-examination that can be part of that."
All 10 stories will be broadcast and podcast in a season of new writing as part of Late Date on RTÉ Radio 1, weeknights at 11.20pm, from Monday, September 27 to Friday, October 8 inclusive, starting with the winning story.
That winning story will be announced earlier the same evening along with the two other prizewinning stories selected by this year’s judges on an Arena special programme at 7pm on RTÉ Radio 1. The winning author will receive €3,000.
As part of this Arena special programme, presenter Seán Rocks and the judges, Lisa McInerney, Lucy Caldwell and Declan Hughes will discuss all the stories on the shortlist, with audio clips and interviews with some of the writers before the judges announce their top prizes.
Set up in 1986 to honour writer and broadcaster Francis MacManus, the RTÉ Short Story Competition has been a critically important launch pad for new and emerging writers in Ireland. Past winners and shortlisted writers include Claire Keegan, Danielle McLaughlin, Anthony Glavin, Chris Binchy, Nuala O’Connor, Liz Nugent, Colin Walsh, Stephen Walsh and Sarah Gilmartin. For more on the RTÉ Short Story Competition, see www.rte.ie/writing
