Frank O'Connor International Short Story competition

Nepali-born writer Samrat Upadhyay has been named a finalist in the Frank O'Connor International Short Story competition.

When I met Upadhyay in the Hotel Ambassador in Lajimpat on July 14 he had recently learned the news. "When I saw the list of finalists, I was surprised," he said.

Come September, this 43-year-old writer of a recently published and much acclaimed short story collection, The Royal Ghosts, will attend the award ceremony in Ireland. Who knows, he could be the winner! Upadhyay has his fingers crossed for good luck.

The prize, which is awarded to a complete collection of previously unpublished stories in a book collection, stands at &euros;35,000, making it the world's richest short story prize. Administered from the Munster Literature Centre in Cork, the prize was established in 2005 during the city's tenure as European capital of culture, in honour of the author Frank O'Connor, Cork's most famous literary son.

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