THE 12th ANNUAL BRIAN MOORE SHORT STORY AWARDS

1st Prize £750
2nd Prize £300
3rd Prize £200

Now Closed.
The awards take place in the John Hewitt Bar, Belfast, on

31st May2009

Last year's judge Glenn Patterson in conversation
with this year's competition judge Richard Bausch
in Linen Hall Library, Belfast earlier this year.

Creative Writers Network presents the twelfth annual Brian Moore Short Story Awards, which open on 1st December  2008. Submissions will be accepted up until 4pm on 1st March 2009, and the winner will be announced at the awards ceremony in Belfast in May 2009 by competition judge, American author, Richard Bausch, acclaimed as one of the greatest living exponents of the short story genre.

For twelve years now, the Brian Moore Short Story Awards have been a showcase for the best of Northern Irish writing talent. In 1996 the Creative Writers Network launched the first contest, with Moore’s blessing, to honour his contribution to Northern Irish writing and to promote the short story form. Fittingly last year the contest was opened, for the first time, to writers of Irish descent living anywhere in the world. Like Moore himself, many writers have left these shores over the years to seek their fortunes throughout the Great Irish Diaspora, making an enormous contribution to global literature and culture. Being Irish is more than a matter of the geographical place of birth, and we are pleased the competition is open to all Irish people, whichever nation state they ascribe to.

The Brian Moore Short Story Awards are the best known and longest running literary competition in Northern Ireland. Previous judges have included Glenn Patterson, Lionel Shriver, Carlo Gebler and Maeve Binchy. This year’s judge, Richard Bausch is a writer of global reputation who recently published his eighteenth book.  Richard Bausch is an American novelist, and holds the Moss Chair of Excellence in the Writing Program at the University of Memphis. His novels usually focus on American family life. He is a contributor of short stories to various periodicals, including Harper's, Ploughshares, Esquire, Atlantic, and The New Yorker.

  “I don't teach writing. I teach patience. Toughness. Stubbornness. The willingness to fail. I teach the life. The odd thing is most of the things that stop an inexperienced writer are so far from the truth as to be nearly beside the point. When you feel global doubt about your talent, that is your talent. People who have no talent don't have any doubt. And it's figuring that out and learning how to put all that stuff behind you and just do the work. Just go in and shake the black cue ball and see what surfaces..”
-Richard Bausch

Many previous winners have gone on to great achievements in the literary world. First published as winner of the Brian Moore Short Story Awards for his short story, Rain in 1998, Sam Millar's memoir On the Brinks, went straight to Eason's top ten bestsellers' list and he has gone on to become a best-selling crime writer. He maintains that he wouldn't be the writer he is today if it wasn't for the award.
We are thrilled to welcome the Verbal Arts Centre as one of this year’s contest sponsors. The winning story will be published in Verbal Magazine, which is circulated to 100 000 homes across Northern Ireland, combined with a strong net presence. The runners up will be published in Creative Writers Network’s quarterly literary magazine, Ulla’s Nib, which is also available online, follow the link from the homepage or go to www.ullasnib.co.uk.