Young Kilkenny girl is runner-up in Specsavers’ An Post Irish Book Awards Junior Short Story Competition

A Kilkenny student has been named runner-up in the national Specsavers Irish Book Awards short story competition.

Nine-year-old Elliot Stone from the Old Golf Links Road, Kilkenny was confirmed as a prizewinner by the team at Specsavers Kilkenny.

The Kilkenny native entered the competition with her enchanting story and has been awarded the runner-up prize, a collection of popular Irish children’s books, including Peter Donnelly’s The President’s Dog and Ellen Ryan’s Gods Don’t Cry. 

The short story competition celebrates Specsavers’ sponsorship of the Junior and Senior Irish Children's Book of the Year categories at the recent An Post Irish Book Awards 2023.

This year’s short story prompt was ‘I stepped out of the front door clutching my new binoculars. My mum said they were magic but didn’t tell me what they could do…’ and Elliot’s creative story, titled ‘The Magic Binoculars of Kilkenny’, impressed the judges, who felt she had a bright future as a budding author.

For more information on Specsavers Kilkenny visit https://www.specsavers.ie/stores/kilkenny