Will the on-air Francis MacManus Short Story Competition change stories into radio-plays?

The Francis MacManus Short Story competition is quite a well known and well contested prize of thousands of euro for on-air short stories. The interesting thing about this competition is that the results will be read out on air which mught change the format of the story. It could be that these stories may end up more like radio-plays due to the fact that they will be presented on and maybe for Radio. I bet that the winning story, not mine, will have plenty of dialogue. Details below:

The annual competition for original short stories for radio is this year celebrating twenty one years on air. The competition commemorates the life and work of Francis Mac Manus, (1909 - 1965), Writer and Head of Talks and Features in Radio Eireann, who was a major figure in encouraging Irish writers and developing radio as a medium for the expression of ideas and the promotion of new writing. Over the past twenty one years The Francis Mac Manus Awards have resulted in the broadcast of over 500 original stories from new and emerging writers and encouraged many now celebrated Irish writers who went on to win success and acclaim in Ireland and abroad.

The 2006 competition offers prizes of €3,000 and a commemorative trophy for the overall winner with €2,000 and €1,000 for the second and third prize-winning stories. The three prize-winners plus a selection from the shortlisted stories will be broadcast on RTE Radio 1 in 2007.

The closing date for entries is Monday, 30th October 2006. A copy of the rules and regulations and an entry form can be obtained by sending a stamped addressed envelope to :

RTE RADIO 1 Short Story Competition, RTE Radio Centre, Dublin4.