Winner of prestigious Molly Keane Creative Writing Award is revealed

The winner of this year's Molly Keane Creative Writing award has been announced.

This year's winner is Sophie Treacy from Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, for her moving story 'Out of Eden'.

Sophie is a law graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the University of Oxford. She enjoys literature of all forms, particularly poetry, literary non-fiction and translated fiction. She is currently writing a PhD thesis on the role of human dignity in international human rights law.

Sophie received a cash prize of €250 plus a writing course under the auspices of the Molly Keane Writers Retreat in Ardmore to the value of €300.

'Out of Eden’ is the 27th winner of the Molly Keane Creative Writing Award run by Waterford City & County Council’s Arts Office.

The story was announced as the winner of this year's competition on Culture Night by acclaimed author and movement therapist Lani O'Hanlon.

Writers from across the country entered the competition, which has been running annually since 1998 to celebrate the rich literary life of the late Molly Keane.

Molly lived in Ardmore, Co. Waterford, until she died in 1996. Molly’s writing career started at a young age to "supplement her dress allowance", and at the age of 18, the first of her numerous novels and plays were published under the pseudonym M.J. Farrell.

Molly married into the Keane family of West Waterford but her husband, Bobby, died at the age of 36 in 1946. She moved to Ardmore, Co. Waterford, where she lived until her death.

Molly ceased writing until 1981 when ‘Good Behaviour’ was published under her real name. It became a publishing sensation and was well received as a masterpiece of black comedy, for which she was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981.

'Out of Eden' can be viewed on YouTube.