Stories that take you to a place and back again

From left: Brendan Barrington, editor at Penguin Ireland; Colm McDermott, runner-up; P Kearney Byrne, winner; Elaine Prendeville, Magazine editor; and Michelle Coyle, second runner-up Pic: Fergal Phillips

For the third year, we asked you, our readers, to consider a submission to The Sunday Business Post/ Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize. And we were, in a word, inundated. The brief was simple: write an original short story of up to 5,000 words in length. The response spanned every conceivable subject matter and genre, and the remarkable standard of creativity on show made the judging process a lengthy, if hugely encouraging, experience.