The winner in the Fiction category, and 2017 Over The Edge New Writer of the Year, is Micheál Ó'Síocháin from Cork for his story 'A day in the life of Frankie
Bones and Little Maneen'.
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| Micheál Ó'Síocháin |
The runner-up in the Fiction category is Richard Newton - Hampshire, UK for his story 'Loose Ends'.
Highly commended in the fiction section are Paula Conway - East Sussex, UK for her story 'Chalk Man'; Niall Bourke, London, UK for his story 'The Hands of The Andes' & Niamh MacCabe, Leitrim for her story 'Steer The Dark Skies Blue'.
The winner in the Poetry category is Caroline Am Bergris, London, UK for her poem 'Graceland'.
The runner-up in the poetry section is Emily Vieweg - Fargo, North Dakota, USA, for her poem 'Bipolar is...'
In third place is Evan Costigan, Kildare for his poem 'Simplex No. 15,604'.
Highly commended in the poetry section are Connie Masterson, County Galway for her poem 'Unholy'; Sighle Meehan, Galway for her poem 'Autumn'; & Anne Walsh Donnelly, Mayo for her poem 'Odd as Fuck'.
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| Nicki Griffin |
Judge’s comments from Nicki Griffin:
"In the end 'graceland' came first [in the poetry section], very closely over 'Bipolar is…', because of its careful, clever, original use of language, painting an extraordinary picture of a housing estate and its residents of which the narrator is one. The situations within the poem are often desperate, yet the poem is not gloomy. This is in no way a humorous poem, yet there is a hint of an underlying humour in the descriptions of place and people, a recognition of the strength and resilience of those living in often appalling circumstances.
In the fiction section: every word in 'A day in the life of Frankie Bones and Little Maneen' counts. The characters are utterly believable, brought to life through telling detail. The story is not new, but the writing is fresh with layers of complexity illustrating an impossible dilemma for the narrator. There's a lot of dialogue in this story, written in readable dialect, which is not easy to get right, and each character has a clear, unique voice.
The overall winner was really difficult to pick. But it's 'Frankie Bones and Little Maneen'."
"In the end 'graceland' came first [in the poetry section], very closely over 'Bipolar is…', because of its careful, clever, original use of language, painting an extraordinary picture of a housing estate and its residents of which the narrator is one. The situations within the poem are often desperate, yet the poem is not gloomy. This is in no way a humorous poem, yet there is a hint of an underlying humour in the descriptions of place and people, a recognition of the strength and resilience of those living in often appalling circumstances.
In the fiction section: every word in 'A day in the life of Frankie Bones and Little Maneen' counts. The characters are utterly believable, brought to life through telling detail. The story is not new, but the writing is fresh with layers of complexity illustrating an impossible dilemma for the narrator. There's a lot of dialogue in this story, written in readable dialect, which is not easy to get right, and each character has a clear, unique voice.
The overall winner was really difficult to pick. But it's 'Frankie Bones and Little Maneen'."
The shortlist from which the winners were chosen is available here.
Over The Edge would like to thank Charlie Byrne's Bookshop, Kenny's Bookshop & Gallery, Dock No. 1 Bar & Restaurant, Ward's Hotel, Senator Trevor Ó'Clochairtaigh, and Clare Daly T.D. for sponsoring our competition this year.
