PRESS RELEASE: RTÉ’s The Tubridy Show and Gill & Macmillan launch €10,000 competition to find new non-fiction author

RTÉ’s The Tubridy Show and Gill & Macmillan launch €10,000 competition to find new non-fiction author

 

Have you led a life less ordinary, experienced the bizarre, have a story worth telling? Ever been told you should put it all down in a book?

 

RTÉ Radio 1’s Tubridy Show and Gill & Macmillan have teamed up to offer an exclusive publishing contract worth €10,000 with Ireland’s leading publisher.

 

We’re looking for an unusual, human story with a strong Irish angle. It must be a true story, something a bit different, out of the ordinary. It could be a childhood memoir with a twist, an account of an interesting career, a personal story that captures the zeitgeist of 21st century Ireland, or one of less frantic times. Either way it must be original, captivating, enduring and honest.

 

The competition will be officially launched on The Tubridy Show on Tuesday 1st May and will run for two weeks. A telephone line will be open for entrants to leave a three minute message outlining their true story. Entries will be judged by a panel comprising The Tubridy Show, a leading author, Gill & Macmillan and a bookseller. (Over 18s only and applicants must be resident in the UK or Ireland).

 

The short-listed entrants will be interviewed by Ryan Tubridy before the overall winner is announced the week of 21st May and later presented with a prestigious publishing contract. A ghost-writer will be available to work with the winner on their story.

 

Ryan Tubridy said: ‘Nearly everyone in Ireland believes they have a book in them.  They certainly have a story to tell, we all do, and that’s what we’re trying to tap into with this competition. This country is going through such interesting times that must make for fertile ground for fascinating stories. Combining our listeners’ love of reading and this country’s sense of storytelling should ensure an intriguing tale will emerge’.

 

RTÉ’s percentage of the royalties from the book will go to the National Adult Literacy Agency, www.nala.ie

 

We want to celebrate the wealth of characters in our diverse and ever-changing society and provide an opportunity to reveal Ireland’s untold tales in the most intimate manner of storytelling: the book.

 

 

COMPETITION LINE: 1520 501 650

(Competition lines strictly open Tuesday 1st —Tuesday 15th May)

*Entries charged at €0.20 per minute. Calls will last no longer than 3.5 minutes

 

 

For more information please contact:

Liz Raleigh, Publicist, Gill & Macmillan (01) 500 9521 or lraleigh@gillmacmillan.ie

Sandra Byrne, Press & Publicity Office, RTE (01) 208 2506 or sandra.byrne@rte.ie 

 

For Terms & Conditions visit:

www.gillmacmillan.ie or www.rte.ie/radio1/thetubridyshow