Paper Lanterns Literary Journal and Tertulia Books are delighted to announce the winners of their 2021 short story competition for Irish teens. Young writers from all over Ireland competed for prizes of €250, sponsored by Tertulia in association with Spot-Lit EU. Acclaimed author Deirdre Sullivan was the guest judge, and there were two categories, 13-15 years and 16-18 years. Éabha Coghlan (13) from Dublin was the junior winner for her story ‘Waves’. Eavan O’Keefe (17) from Kildare took the senior prize for ‘Our Footsteps in the Sand’.
The competition’s theme, ‘waves’, inspired entries of an extremely high standard. Grace Kelley, co-founder and co-editor of Paper Lanterns said, ‘We received excellent stories and enjoyed reading all of them. It’s exciting to have so many talented young writers living on this island and it was difficult to select a shortlist. Unfortunately, there could only be one winner in each category, but we would like to thank all who entered and encourage everyone to keep writing.’
With so many strong stories, bestselling YA author Deirdre Sullivan said choosing the winners ‘wasn’t an easy decision.’ According to Sullivan, Éabha Coghlan’s ‘interesting character study’ and skill for ‘observation and dialogue’ were particularly striking. Sullivan was impressed by Eavan O’Keefe’s ‘use of poetic language and imagery to communicate emotion’ and how their work ‘appeals to the heart and the senses.’ Both stories will be published in Paper Lanterns Issue 6, which releases on 15th September and can be pre-ordered here.
