Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellowship

The fellowship is made possible through the very generous sponsorship of Cork City Council. The fellowship follows on from the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and further demonstrates the commitment of the Munster Literature Centre and Cork City Council to the short story community. Named for one of Cork’s most renowned writers, it acknowledges the special place the short story form occupies in the cultural history and contemporary practice of the city.

Applications for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellowship are indefinitely suspended.

Benefits of the fellowship

The fellow benefits from the prestige of receiving a highly competitive international literary award which will not only allow the candidate to spend time concentrating on their own work, but also to acquire more experience in the delivery of workshops and mentorships. The successful fellow also receives a monthly stipend during their stay (September, October, November).

2025 Fellow: Laura Jean McKay

Laura Jean McKay is the author of The Animals in That Country (Scribe 2020) – winner of the prestigious Arthur C Clarke Award, The Victorian Prize for Literature, the ABIA Small Publishers Adult Book of the Year and co-winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel 2021. The Animals in That Country has been shortlisted for The Stella Prize and The Kitchies and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Laura’s short story collections are Holiday in Cambodia and Gunflower (Scribe 2023), which was shortlisted for the 2024 Queensland Literary Awards and named one of The Guardian’s best books of 2023. An Adjunct Lecturer in Creative Writing at Massey University, Laura now lives in Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia, and serves on the Australasian Animal Studies Association committee. She was a 2024 Queensland Writers Centre Fellow and awarded the NZSA Waitangi Day Literary Honours.

Mentorships

Mentorship applications will open in August 2025.

Previous Fellows

Camilla Grudova
2024 Frank O’Connor Fellow

Alexander MacLeod
2023 Frank O’Connor Fellow

Tina Pisco
2021 Frank O’Connor Fellow

Alannah Hopkin
2020 Frank O’Connor Fellow

Sara Maitland
2019 Frank O’Connor Fellow

Carys Davies
2018 Frank O’Connor Fellow

Marie-Helene Bertino
2017 Frank O’Connor Fellow

Zsuzsi Gartner
2016 Frank O’Connor Fellow