Budding Kildare author wins Irish Book Awards Junior Short Story Competition

Specsavers have announced that eight-year-old Grace Spellman, from Bunscoil Bhríde national school in Rathangan is the national champion of the junior category. The Kildare native entered the competition and triumphed over stiff rivalry to win the competition. Her prize included a hamper of the shortlisted books featured in the recent Irish Books Awards children’s category and €500 for Bunscoil Bhríde’s school library.

The short story competition celebrates Specsavers’ sponsorship of the Junior and Senior Irish Children's Book of the Year categories at this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards 2022. This year’s short story theme was ‘Looking into the crystal ball, the fortune teller was excited about the future…’ and Grace’s winning story, titled ‘Mystical Mary’, impressed the judges, who felt she had a bright future as a budding author. Grace told the story of planning her amazing birthday party featuring a circus and performers, until it was suddenly cancelled. In despair, she visited ‘Mystical Mary’ the magical fortune teller who showed her a glimpse of her future as a ‘singing superstar’.

Carol O’Neill and Natasha Power of Specsavers Newbridge were delighted to present Grace and her school with their winnings at a recent presentation at Bunscoil Bhríde national school.

Grace was thrilled with her win, saying, "I really enjoyed writing my story and using my imagination to create such a fun world. I can’t wait to read all my new books and I’m excited to see our school library full of new books!"

Carol O’Neill of Specsavers Newbridge says "We are delighted to award Grace with her prize, she is such a deserving winner with her very creative story that brought a smile to my face. It’s also our honour to be in a position to support a local school with a €500 donation for the school library. I am sure the school is as proud of Grace as we are. Children have the most creative imaginations and have such a wonderful ability to make us smile and are sure this story will make many people in Kildare smile."

Speaking about Grace’s win, class teacher Ms. Dineen adds "We are so proud of Grace, she has always had a great imagination. Reading and writing is such a great creative outlet for children and something we encourage at Bunscoil Bhríde. We are very thankful to Specsavers for their generous donation to our school library."