Davey Byrnes Short Story shortlist

This year, more than 800 entries were received, all of which were read in an anonymous process by a panel of readers. A longlist of 30 was then passed on – again anonymously – to the competition judge, Richard Ford, from which the six prize winners were selected. They should publish the shortlist for reasons of encouragement I think. The filter judges aren't named but will obviously have an in fluence on the type of stories presented to Richard Ford.

The comments from the final judge, Richard Ford, are worth reading. He goes on a bit I think about Irish identity and said there wasn't much in the way of experiment or laughs.

Some heavyweights on the shortlist of 6.

CLAIRE KEEGAN , who was raised in Wicklow, studied in New Orleans and Cardiff before earning an MPhil in creative writing from Trinity College Dublin. Her first short story collection, Antarctica , was a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year and earned her the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, while her second collection Walk the Blue Fields won the Edge Hill Prize. She is a member of Aosdána.

Cork-born journalist MARY LELAND has published two novels, The Killeen and Approaching Priests , and a book of short stories, The Little Galloway Girls as well as three non-fiction books, The Lie of the Land: Journeys through Literary Cork, That Endless Adventure: A History of the Cork Harbour Commissioners , and Dwyers of Cork: A Family Business and a Business Family .

MOLLY McCLOSKEY , who was born in Philadelphia but has lived in Ireland for the past 20 years, is the author of two collections of short stories, Solomon’s Seal and The Beautiful Changes , and a novel, Protection . She has also worked for the United Nations in Kenya, and is currently completing a non-fiction book about schizophrenia.

Carlow native KATHLEEN MURRAY’S stories have appeared in the anthologies The Incredible Hides in Every House and These Are Our Lives , and in the Stinging Fly magazine. She was the winner of the Fish Short Story Prize 2006-07 and is working on her first collection of short stories.

NCAD graduate SUSAN STAIRS is currently a student on the MA in creative writing programme in UCD. She has published three books about Irish art, Markey Robinson: A Life, The Irish Figurists , and Drawing from Memory: The Life of Irish Artist Gladys Maccabe and is currently working on a novel.

EOIN MCNAMEE, from Kilkeel, Co Down, was shortlisted for the Irish Times literature prize for his first book, the novella The Last of Deeds , in 1989. He has published four novels – Resurrection Man, The Blue Tango, The Ultras and 12:23 – a poetry collection, two screenplays and two books for children. He also writes under the name John Creed.

THE OVERALL WINNER of the award will receive €25,000,