Publishers appeal to writing contest entrants for happy ending to literary inferno tale

IT IS a dramatic story with an almost tragic plot twist that could now have a happy ending.

Fire has destroyed hundreds of entries in one of the country's most popular writing competitions.

But Clem Cairns, the director of West Cork's Fish Publishing in Durrus, organisers of the competition, has issued an appeal for writers who entered Fish's first Very Short Story competition by post within the last month, to resend them.

Mr Cairns's offices in Durrus were destroyed in a devastating fire on St Valentine's night.

About 300 stories which had been received by post were lost in the blaze.

Contact information for most of the entrants has been retrieved, and the writers have been contacted. However, the most recent details were burnt.

Mr Cairns said anyone who sent a story in the week before Valentine's Day should get in touch with Fish Publishing.

"This is a severe setback," Mr Cairns said last night.

"But the support from local people has been fantastic. People have offered us all kinds of help, including the loan of equipment and office space. The main thing is that nobody was hurt and we have enough backed-up data to continue working.

"The building itself, of local stone, glass and wood, has been burnt to a cinder. Burnt pages of Fish anthologies, collections of the best short stories from the last 10 years, lie on the ground, wet from firemen's hoses."

Mr Cairns said the loss of 10 original paintings which were reprinted as covers of Fish anthologies over the years was particularly difficult to take.

Also burnt in the fire were 1,000 stories entered by post for the longer Fish Short Story Prize, which closed in November.

Fortunately the short list stories for this competition had already been sent to the judges Roddy Doyle, Hugo Hamilton and Victoria Glendinning.

The results of the competition will be announced on the company's website, www.fishpublishing.com, on St Patrick's Day.

Fish Publishing has set up temporary residence in the home of Clem and his partner Jula which is where the company began 10 years ago.

Fish Publishing's office phone line has been restored at 027-61246.

The email address is [e-mail].