Seán Dunne Young Writers' Awards
SEÁN DUNNE YOUNG WRITERS AWARDS ANNOUNCED.
The 2024 Seán Dunne Young Writers’ Award winners have been announced by Waterford City Council in advance of next week’s awards ceremony on Thursday March 20 in Greyfriars, Municipal Gallery, Waterford.
This year the overall winner is Noel O’ Regan a 38 year old writer from Tralee in County Kerry for his startling short story How to Defend against Vikings. It is set in the world of a child as he observes the actions of a ‘Viking’ – a perceived invader of his home.
Noel is a former recipient of a Leonard A. Koval Memorial Prize, as well as being a prize winner in the Bridport Prize and Writing Spirit Award. He has been shortlisted for numerous other awards and is a Pushcart Prize nominee. His fiction has appeared in several journals and anthologies in Ireland and abroad. He is the current Kerry County Council Writer-in-Residence.
Noel receives €1,200 plus mentoring and an invitation to attend workshops at the Waterford Writers Weekend that takes place next week (20th to 23rd of March).
The National Junior Award goes to Julie Leenane from Stillorgan, County Dublin, for her short story The Glassmaker. The judges described it as of “exceptional Maturity... Each and every word has that inevitability one finds in the works of authors like Clare Keegan or John McGahern, the inevitability of flight, or an arrow true to its target.
Julie is a student of Mount Anvile School in South Dublin. Julie is also a member of the Mount Anville Debating team which is a finalist in the All Ireland Schools debating competition. Julie receives €500 plus mentoring and an invitation to attend workshops at the Waterford Writers Weekend.
This year the Seán Dunne Local Award goes to Rose Keating from John’s Park for Taxi, an observational story set diary-style between a driver and a regular. The judges said of Rose’s work “…this piece has an incredible energy about it. The appeal to the senses is instant and continues throughout. The vivid, central character of Ethel is compelling and intriguing, as is the connection between her and the taxi driver.”
Rose is a student at the Ursuline Convent in Waterford. She receives €350 plus mentoring and an invitation to attend workshops at the Waterford Writers Weekend.
The Sean Dunne Young Writers Awards were initiated in Waterford in 1996 as a commemorative celebration for the journalist, poet and editor Seán Dunne who had passed away at the age of 39. An initiative of Waterford City Council the annual Awards are for up and coming writers who are 30 years old or younger.
Waterford City Council would like to extend an invitation to all entrants to attend the award ceremony in Greyfriars Municipal Gallery, Waterford on Thursday 20th at 6.30pm.
For further information you can email us at [email protected]
Who was Seán Dunne ?
Seán Dunne was a poet born in Waterford, Ireland.
Seán's collections of poems have all been well received, and in order of release are: "Against the Storm" (1985), "The Sheltered Nest" (1992) and "Time and the Island".
The account of his childhood "In My Father's House" was released in 1991, and was a bestseller.
