Powers & Irish Times Short Story Comp

DermoLogical

That's another 2 days of waiting for the few hundred names on the longlist and another week again for those 'lucky' 50 who make the shortlist.

I'll have no fingernails left. Cruel cruel judges...

hcass

So how many are in the long list altogether?

Jesus I hope I make the short list, I'd be thrilled. That in itself would be an achievement.

D-FENS

Question still remains…what happened to the phantom longlist no. 17, which was marked as the shortlist “in error” for a few days.
Were they always intended to make up the shortlist, removed when the feck up was spotted and will reappear this Saturday? If so ,there is still hope for anyone not in the 16 sections of the longlist, because none of the people in section 17 were either, and there was only 29 names not 50
If they are not part of the intended shortlist, why were they deleted?...
I don’t know if I’m clinging onto hope or just enjoying the conspiracy theory at this stage

Madammoiselle

Congrats to everyone who made the longlist and best of luck on the short listing!
I was hoping the long listing wasn't over with yet due to the check back soon for more blah..

It's the end of the road for me, so disappointed, I guess my writing just isn't up to scratch.
Good luck everyone! :-)

GlassofPowers

DermoLogical wrote: »

That's another 2 days of waiting for the few hundred names on the longlist and another week again for those 'lucky' 50 who make the shortlist.

I'll have no fingernails left. Cruel cruel judges...

I totally agree with you. I have checked so many times I think I must have developed PISS -COD (Powers Irish Short Story Compulsive Obsessive Disorder ) They really have been very very naughty about announcing what is going to happen - I wrote a poignant story about a lonely man I had visited - I should have made him an alcoholic then given back his POWERS. Anyway in my search for fame I read all of your comments and it made me laugh -that's not LOL cos I didn't do it outloud- anyway back to the whisky!

psicic

It's down to personal taste, I suppose, but up until now I thought some of the stories on the longlist were there simply because they had under 450 words! Some of them were a bit... underwhelming... I suppose.

I'm not too bitter about not appearing on the longlist - I still enjoyed the exercise and I can see how my story would have been too bland and, almost, passive - but I'll certainly be interested to see the shortlist.

Now... what's the next competition we're all going to enter en masse? Half the fun of this has been coming to boards to see the reaction to updates

anyon?

The RTE Arena Flash Challenge winners were announced today as well (or yest maybe?)... two rejections in one day is never good!

GlassofPowers

psicic wrote: »

It's down to personal taste, I suppose, but up until now I thought some of the stories on the longlist were there simply because they had under 450 words! Some of them were a bit... underwhelming... I suppose.

I'm not too bitter about not appearing on the longlist - I still enjoyed the exercise and I can see how my story would have been too bland and, almost, passive - but I'll certainly be interested to see the shortlist.

Now... what's the next competition we're all going to enter en masse? Half the fun of this has been coming to boards to see the reaction to updates

Maybe we could all meet up and drink Powers & write silly stories?

LegacyUser

Any tips for the winning story?
I've had a read of quite a few of them and I really like Christina Galvin's one ( on longlist number 7).
It's beautifully written and very evocative. Think it might have only been added today as hadn't noticed it before and have definitely read everything else on number 7.

Just googled her and she has an M.A in Writing.

I also like Eileen Gormley's one about the hypnotist on the same longlist. Very funny but not as literary.

I didn't like Brendan Sayer's story about the cat. Found the writing quite dull.

Anyone tipping other stories?

Chocolate Chip

I've been thinking about this all day, and I'm still trying to get over the dissapointment of my entry getting lost. Computers these days eh.

Madammoiselle

Chocolate Chip wrote: »

I've been thinking about this all day, and I'm still trying to get over the dissapointment of my entry getting lost. Computers these days eh.

They lost mine too! Obviously. Looks like we're in the same sad aul boat m'dear.
I never liked Powers anyway, Jack Daniels has always been my buddy!
As for the Irish Times- pffft! I'd choose the Irish indo any day over it.

On a serious note though, I thought my story was the only 'lost' one. Out of 4,200 entries they probably lost a lot more than 2.. ;-D

Rrad

Have been Reading these posts now for the past week and have really enjoyed them. My story hasn't featured on any lists, short or long, so Im going with the story that the computer lost it! I'm a glutton for punishment so I'm also awaiting the outcome of the RTE radio drama awards which are also due out this weekend. I think it's important to fail in more than one discipline! Like the idea that we all meet up As a group after all this in a pub, get drunk read aloud our stories and award prizes for the stories under various headings that as a group we might come up with.

echo beach

MOONlit wrote: »

Yep. Made me realize with a start, what an awful job that must be - to read through hundreds and hundreds of stories.

I'd say a lot of the donkey work had to be left to junior staff - interns on Job Bridge or work experience students - so I wouldn't be too disappointed if your masterpiece got overlooked.
Remember all the great writers who suffered rejection before being discovered.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

DermoLogical wrote: »

I just sent the following to enquiries@irishtimes.com:
"Hello,
There is a lot of speculation on boards.ie (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056592487&page=15) about the status of the Long List, Short List and Winners announcement for the Powers Short Story Competition. The Long List was last updated a while back, but still shows “Check back soon – the longlist continues“. A post titled Short List was briefly available, but then disappeared.
Can you shed any light?
Thanks and regards"

Thanks Dermo. It seems to have done the trick. Roll on tomorrow.:)

c68zapdsm5i1ru

To be honest, I half feel sorry for whoever wins. There's been such a build up that no story could possibly live up to all the hype and its bound to get slated by lots of people. Still, I suppose ten grand will be some compensation!

pickarooney

Does anyone feel like posting up entries which didn't make the longlists? We could vote for best of the rest with a €2 scratchcard top prize.

Lemmingway

Is it possible that - given that this is the year 2012, the era of Cloud computing etc. etc. - stories could have been actually lost?
Surely all were backed-up as they came in.

Madammoiselle

pickarooney wrote: »

Does anyone feel like posting up entries which didn't make the longlists? We could vote for best of the rest with a €2 scratchcard top prize.

Hehe. I couldn't even win that!

dominiquecruz

Did they get rid of the longlist? Dang, was halfway through :mad:

psicic

pickarooney wrote: »

Does anyone feel like posting up entries which didn't make the longlists?

Sure - as cringeworthy an idea as it is, it also sounds like a bit of a larf. Probably should wait until after the short list is out though, just in case someone ruins their chances by accident or something.

Madammoiselle

dominiquecruz wrote: »

Did they get rid of the longlist? Dang, was halfway through :mad:

Yip! I was just gonna read some more just then & it's gone.
I still have a shred of hope that my name will appear in the short list tomorrow.
I just can't figure out how some of the other stories made it & mine didn't.
Although maybe I was criticising some little kids entries or something. Hah.

Wooly Woo

Why get rid of the longlist though? Doesn't make much sense. If I may be Jim Corr for a second, there's no way that anyone will remember all of the names and so we have to take it that everyone on the shortlist has appeared on the longlist, right? But with the longlist gone, we won't know for sure!

tis a fine line

Lemmingway wrote: »

Is it possible that - given that this is the year 2012, the era of Cloud computing etc. etc. - stories could have been actually lost?
Surely all were backed-up as they came in.

Mine most definitely was lost There's no other explanation!!

Madammoiselle wrote: »

Hehe. I couldn't even win that!

I'm on for meeting for pints

Peace Out xxx

Rrad

The tension is killing me!

Brel

The short list is up! And here they are...!:

THE SHORTLIST

The Nest
by Brenda Frawley

The Egg
by Robert Fannin

Chips
by CJ Scuffins

Word Made Flesh
by Orla Gleeson

São Paulo
by Colm Keenan

The Train Back
by Jim Mullarkey

Aprez-Match
by Christina Galvin

The Devil’s Thumb
by Michele Forbes

Heels
by Declan McCormack

Verbose
by Hugh Hynes

Madammoiselle

Did anybody here make the short list?
Excellent choices, Brenda Frawley or Orla Glesson to win.
Amazing stories.
Well done everyone!

Jellybean13

Does anyone know what happened to the top 50? I thought the top 50 were going to be published in a book?

pickarooney

There's a woeful number of spelling mistakes in these stories.

recoltes

Is it just me or was 'celebrating what truly matters' not the theme?

Maybe I'm a bitter lemon but the only story that does it for me is 'Verbose' by Hugh Hynes.

The rest I find quite depressing and off theme..

No story listed features the word 'Powers' and it would appear that mentioning 'Powers' automatically disqualified a short story entry.

Perhaps the intention this year was to make the competition a proper short story comp and not a product placing marketing type comp.

It would have been better if this had been declared at the start of the competition as it was an implied requirement judging by last years winner.

My own tale included 'Powers' alas.......

Best of luck to Hugh Hynes whose mention of whisky and what truly matters came closest to filling the brief. Though whisky without the 'e' is scotch of course.

doomed

Bit of a mixed bag. Well done to all ten though.

(1) Hugh Hynes
(2) CJ Scuffins (great name as well)
(3) Michele Forbes