Today, we announce the final six stories we will be sending to Nuala O’Connor for selection of our three winners.
It’s been quite a journey to get here, for you and for us. Always, we endeavoured to be fair and balanced in our judgements, and Laura and I argued (in a nice way) over some choices. In the end, there was no argument over the six finalists.
These are the very best of the best stories we received, and from first to last line, they held us spellbound. We admired their polished prose, the strength of voice, the confidence evident in the writing, the sublime mastery of the craft.
In short, these are the stories that blew us away on first read, and we believe they are truly remarkable examples of the short story.
To the writers of these stories, we thank you for the gift of your writing. Your stories will be with Nuala O’Connor tomorrow morning!
The Frazzled Lit Short Story Award 2025 FINALISTS
Amy's Mom
Limbo Nights
Modus Transvectio
Silfra
Slasher Dream #2
The Canal
Congratulations to all, and the very best of luck in the final!
About our competition judge, Nuala O’Connor
We’re huge Nuala O’Connor fans here at Frazzled Lit, and are immensely grateful for the support she has given us since our first issue. Her CNF piece, Life As Mask, Mask As Life featured in that issue, as did my thoroughly enjoyable interview with her about Seaborne, her latest novel. She is a writer of delicious prose, a remarkable poet, and a generous supporter of up-and-coming writers. We feel truly blessed to have her as our final judge in the competition.
Nuala O’Connor lives in Co. Galway. Her sixth novel Seaborne, about Irish-born pirate Anne Bonny, was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award and was shortlisted for Eason Novel of the Year at the 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards. Her fifth poetry collection, Menagerie, was published by Arlen House in spring 2025.
These titles!🤩
Congratulations to the finalist.