Fergal O'Byrne

Fergal is an award winning writer for print, stage and screen. He was a winner of the Colm Tóibin International Short Story Award 2022 and shortlisted for the FISH Publishing Award 2022. Longlisted for the prestigious Alpine Fellowship 2020, Fergal has twice made the shortlist for the prestigious John McGahern Award (2021 and 2022).

His Location Trilogy of stage plays were produced in Copenhagen (2021-23) by That Theatre Company. His stage work has garnered multiple awards, including the Eamon Keane Award 2013, Listowel Writer's Week 2015 and Eamon Keane Award 2018, Papatango 2018 and NEWvember Festival 2017. He has also written several radio plays aired by Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ.

The Judging Panel

Emily Ghadimi

Emily is currently the Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ireland to Denmark, covering a range of issues including political, cultural and community engagement. She previously worked in the Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Unit at the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, focusing on nuclear issues, and has previous experience in political dialogue, armed conflict and international criminal law and justice.

She has degrees in law from University College Dublin and the University of Amsterdam, and is admitted to the New York State Bar as an Attorney at Law. She is interested in reading both non-fiction and fiction, in particular contemporary Irish writers.

Birgit Ellegaard Fiig

Birgit teaches English and creative writing at Ordrup Gymnasium. She has a passion for Debating and Public Speaking Competitions. She has been involved in the English Speaking Union for many years. She loves drama and has directed several productions and also produces educational material for English plays.

William Morgan

William is an award winning Irish actor, director and producer. As a director, producer and performer, he spent many years working in independent and commercial theatre. William has presented several critically acclaimed radio talk shows and performed nationally and internationally as a stand-up comic.

He has played leading roles, both comic and dramatic, in TV and Film. He has written and directed numerous short films, music videos and created award winning TV pilots. William works with writer Fergal O'Byrne, developing projects for TV and Film. In 2022 he published Fergal's collection of award winning short stories 'Careful What You Wish For.'

Awards Director