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 PRESS RELEASE
The Michael McLaverty Short Story Award 2008 (22/01/08)
The Linen Hall Library proudly announces the launch of the 2008 Michael McLaverty Short Story Award - a nationwide search to find the best new short story by an Irish writer. With a terrific chance for the overall winner to capture a lucrative prize of £2000 and an exciting possibility of having their work published by Linen Hall Library, this award seeks to unearth the best emerging new talent, whilst also celebrating the legacy of one of our most important writers.
This prestigious biennial award is named after one of Ireland’s foremost exponents of the short story, Michael McLaverty, whose extensive archive was presented to the Linen Hall Library in 2005. McLaverty’s writing spanned an amazing seventy years, from the publication of his earliest stories and his most famous novel Call My Brother Back in the 1930s, through his collections of short stories The White Mare (1943), The Game Cock (1947) and Collected Short Stories (1978) to the re-issue of The White Mare by the Linen Hall Library in 2004.
Throughout his busy life, McLaverty corresponded with many of the great Irish writers of the twentieth century, including Mary Lavin, Peadar O’Donnell, Daniel Corkery, Seán O’Faoláin, John McGahern, Padraic Fiacc, Daniel Corkery, Brian Friel and Seamus Heaney, giving and receiving advice, encouragement and support. He carefully honed his style, seeking his own distinctive voice in writing. Always, he encouraged fledgling and established writers to, as Seamus Heaney puts it, ‘go your own way, and do your own work.’
The Michael McLaverty Short Story Award therefore seeks to preserve McLaverty’s memory, by attempting to recapture his spirit and imitate his unique ability to encourage new writing in Ireland. It also endeavours to support the difficult and often lonely practice of writing, to help new and young writers find an individual voice, and to play a meaningful role in Irish publishing. Speaking about the prestigious award, Eugene McCabe, novelist and playwright commented, “The prize money is agreeable for the winner but any writer will tell you that money is inconsequential compared to the euphoria of seeing your work acknowledged in print”
The 2008 Michael McLaverty Short Story Award will be adjudicated by two highly esteemed literary figures - Anne Tannahill and Carlo Gébler and according to John Killen, Deputy Librarian at the Linen Hall Library, they will be looking for “Innovation, energy and veracity in the stories submitted, which will reflect the reality of personal experience and imagination.”
The Michael McLaverty Short Story Award 2008 runs from January until June 30th 2008. All submissions must be sent to Linen Hall Library, be accompanied by an entry fee and must not exceed 3000 words. The prize will be awarded to the winner at a special presentation ceremony in November 2008. Click HERE for a full list of guidelines and regulations, or contact John Killen, Deputy Librarian, Linen Hall Library, (028 9032 1707).
ENDS
Notes to editors
For further information or comment, please contact: John Killen, Deputy Librarian, Linen Hall Library on: 028 9032 1707 or send and email to: j.killen@linenhall.com
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