‘Bubble’ by Dublin writer Jamie Samson has been announced as the winning story in this year’s RT\u00c9 Short Story Competition 2026 in honour of Francis MacManus.<\/p>\n
The announcement was made live on RT\u00c9 Radio 1\u2019s Arena as part of an RT\u00c9 Short Story Competition Special hosted by Rick O\u2019Shea in Poetry Ireland \/ \u00c9igse \u00c9ireann in Parnell Square, Dublin – listen back here.<\/a><\/p>\n As winner Jamie Samson received a cheque for \u20ac5,000 from judge Jan Carson. His short story, ‘Bubble\u2019 follows a student’s night shift at a rundown Dublin off-licence, where an armed robbery takes a strange turn. Talking about the story, Jamie said, “I wanted to explore, in a tongue-in-cheek way, how life or death situations force us to decide what we’re willing to fight and risk everything for.”<\/p>\n We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences<\/a><\/p>\n Listen to ‘Bubble’ by Jamie Sampson<\/p>\n Jamie Samson\u2019s writing has appeared in The Irish Times, Channel, The Four-Faced Liar, Sans Press and The Stoney Collection; he was previously shortlisted in the RT\u00c9 Short Story Competition in 2023. He is working on a novel set in West Cork during the 1920s.<\/p>\n Along with all the shortlisted stories, ‘Bubble\u2019 is available to read and listen to via RT\u00c9 Culture.<\/a><\/p>\n Second Prize went to ‘James Langley Was in Love with Sean Harris\u2019 by Stephanie O’Connor, a research officer with the RCSI, originally from Bangor Co. Down, now living in Wicklow; she was presented with a cheque for \u20ac4,000 by judge Aingeala Flannery.<\/p>\n We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences<\/a><\/p>\n Listen to ‘James Langley Was in Love with Sean Harris’ by Stephanie O’Connor<\/p>\n Third Prize went to ‘A Fork in the Road\u2019 by Paul Edmondson, from Salford, England, now retired and living in Waterford, who was presented with a cheque for \u20ac3,000 by judge Tristan Rosenstock.<\/p>\n