Leitrim native shortlisted for All-Ireland creative writing award

Katharina Dietz from Ballinaglera has been named as one of 12 shortlisted entries for the first-ever All Ireland Scholarships (AIS) Alumni Association creative writing competition award.
The competition, which was run late last year, was open to all recipients of the All-Ireland Scholarship Award since its inception in 2008.
Katharina’s story, ‘Steve’ will go up against entries from AIS Alumni from across Ireland in a bid to be named the first-ever winner of the competition.
Sponsored by JP McManus, a stellar cast of award-winning authors are judging the competition, including Joseph O’Connor, Sinéad Gleeson and Donal Ryan.
Katharina is now in the running for the top prize of €1,000, which will be announced in March.
Entrants were offered the chance to submit stories into one of two categories, fiction and creative non-fiction, in 2,000 words or less.
‘Steve’ was in the fiction category and focused on a college student’s compelling grocery store introduction with the aforementioned Steve.
Creative writing competition sponsor, Mr JP McManus, said: “I fully commend the Alums who took time to enter this competition and display the breath of their writing talents. It was a very difficult job for the judges to narrow down a shortlist, such was the quality of so many entries received. I thank each and every person who entered and look forward to the next instalment later this year.”
To date, 1,496 students from across Ireland have received an All-Ireland Scholarship, which is awarded to the best-performing students in any given year that meet set criteria, such as attending a non-fee-paying secondary school and being exempt from the Leaving Cert. fee. Recipients of the All-Ireland Scholarship receive full financial support for the duration of their third level studies.