FRANK O'CONNOR PAGE
Perhaps Ireland's most complete man of letters, best known for his varied and comprehensive short stories but also a notable literary critic, essayist, travel writer, translator, and biographer, Frank O'Connor (1903-1966) is the author of such justly famous works as "Guests of the Nation" (a haunting narrative of friendship and war and one of the seminal short stories of our century), "My Oedipus Complex" and "First Confession" (two great comic tales), and numerous other fine stories, including "The Bridal Night," "The Luceys," and "The Long Road to Ummera." O'Connor published works of fiction and non-fiction continuously from the 1930s to the 1960s, and a large volume of his Collected Stories (ISBN 0-394-51602-8), edited by Richard Ellmann, appeared in 1981. Most recently his biography of Michael Collins, The Big Fellow, has been published by Picador (ISBN 0-312-18293-7 [hc]). O'Connor has been the subject of an increasing amount of scholarly interest. Much of this work is summed up and extended in the recently published book Frank O'Connor: New Perspectives (ISBN 0-933951-79-5), edited by Robert C. Evans and Richard Harp and available from Locust Hill Press (P.O. Box 260, West Cornwall, CT 06796; 860-672-0069). See Amazon.com! Earth's Biggest Bookstore (For a summary of the book, see An Introduction to Frank O'Connor.)
To honor O'Connor's work, stimulate scholarship about it, and encourage new creativity in the short story (O'Connor's favorite genre), an endowment has now been established to fund a
FRANK O'CONNOR
SHORT STORY AND ESSAY CONTEST
which will exist for at least three years (1998-2000), and probably beyond. Each year the contest will award the following prizes:
$1000 (US) for the best original, previously unpublished story
$500 (US) each for the two best previously unpublished scholarly or critical essays on O'Connor's work
Please mail typed, clearly printed submissions to the following address: Frank O'Connor Short Story Contest, c/o Professor Robert C. Evans, Department of English and Philosophy, Auburn University at Montgomery, P.O. Box 244023, Montgomery, AL 36124-4023 (USA). For information about the essay contest, please follow this link: Frank O'Connor Essay Contest
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SHORT STORY CONTEST
Stories submitted for the $1000 prize in short fiction should
be previously unpublished
not exceed 5000 words (20 double-spaced pages, typed darkly on one side only)
be written in English
NOT be mere imitations of O'Connor's style or themes
but SHOULD be written in a basically realistic style (although "realistic" may be interpreted with some latitude)
be accompanied by a modest $5 (US) entrance fee to help defray costs
IMPORTANT: The name of the entrant should appear only on a separate sheet, not on the typescript of the story itself. THREE copies of the typescript should be submitted. The submitted typescripts will not be returned. No correspondence about the contest will be allowed or answered. Writers will be free to submit their stories for publication anywhere, but only after the winner of the contest has been announced. Submissions failing to meet all the requirements mentioned here and above will not be considered.
Absolute deadline for submission of typescripts of stories:
January 1, 2002
Date by which winner of short story contest will be selected:
March 10, 2002
(Anniversary of Frank O'Connor's Death)
Return to litpage