It’s nearly that time of year again, when a short story writers gets rewarded for their dedication and brilliance with a sum of 35,000 euro: The Frank O’Connor Short Story Award. Running since 2005, this remains the biggest award for any short story writer - and this year, I’m the official festival blogger so I’ll be in the thick of it all, watching events unfold.

As you’ll have noticed, this year, the festival name has changed to the Cork International Short Story Festival (previously the Frank O’Connor Short Story Festival) - if you want to know why, you can read the official blog post (with an explanation by festival director, Pat Cotter) here. Despite the name change, you’ll be pleased to know that the festival hasn’t changed it’s ethos; the festival continues to celebrate the very best in short story talent from Ireland and around the world.

The official festival blog is now live, and in case you’ve missed it, there’s a post on Stories of my Youth by Ethal Rohan, an interview with Mary Costello and an essay on The Short Story Form by Valerie Trueblood. There’s lots more to come (including a guest blog from Peter Murphy, a revealing post from Susan Zelouf, and more interviews) - so I’ll let you know on here when there’s fresh material to read.

 This year’s Frank O’Connor Short Story Award finalists are:

1. Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li (Beijing-born, American Resident)
2. Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod (Canadian debutante)
3. Saints and Sinners by Edna O’Brien (Irish)
4. Death is Not an Option by Suzanne Rivecca (American Debutante)
5. The Empty Family by Colm Tóibín (Irish)
6. Marry or Burn by Valerie Trueblood (American)

I’d like to wish everyone the best of luck.