Helen’s family is from counties Down and Tipperary but she was born and grew up in Cork City. Eighteen years ago she left Ireland to pursue postgraduate studies. Since then she has lived in England, France and, latterly, Switzerland.

Since 2014, her short stories have been published by the Irish Times, the Sunday Business Post, Nivalis, Aesthetica, Bare Fiction Magazine, Occulum, Wasafiri, Number Eleven Magazine, Hysteria and The Stockholm Review of Literature. Since 2015, when she was short-listed for the Cúirt New Writing Prize, Helen has gone on to win a number of prizes for her short stories and has been short- or long-listed in several international writing competitions.

The following are a selection of Helen’s publications, prizes and prize nominations to date.

• “The ride home” was December 2018’s winning story for Hennessy New Irish Writing and was shortlisted for Hennessy New Irish Writing 2018. 

• “26 ways to write a love letter” was shortlisted for the Fish Short Story Prize 2018/19 on 17 March 2019. 

• “The swim” was shortlisted and placed in the top eight for the Cúirt New Writing Prize on 6 March 2019. The judge described the story as “fluid and sensual”.

•  “The other woman” was shortlisted for the Doolin Writers’ Weekend 2019 short story competition on 11 January 2019. 

•  “Silken threads” was published in the Hysteria 6 Anthologyat end-November 2017.

• “Le serpent de mer”, a story in French, won second prize in the annual “Webstory” competition 2016 (based in Geneva, Switzerland). It was published in the 2018 Webstory anthology, Webstory Livre III, in September 2018. 

• “The frog” was longlisted for the Fabula Press Aestas 2017 Short Story Competition and was published in the Aestas 2017 anthology in October 2018. 

• “The frog” was also shortlisted for the Doolin Writers’ Weekend 2018 short story competition on 24 January 2018.

• “She was the Universe” was published on 4 March 2018 by The Stockholm Review of Literature. 

•  “At the border” was highly commended for the Manchester Fiction Prize in December 2017. 

• “Oh, Serena” was published by Occulum on 1 December 2017. 

•  “Jigsaw and Clown” won first prize, in the 2017 Highlands and Islands Short Story Association (HISSAC) Short Story Competition on 1 November 2017. The judges described it as “extraordinary. It is not a breezy read but, like the best short stories, reveals more with each re-read”.

• “Jigsaw and Clown” was also shortlisted for the 2017 Dalkey Creates Short Story Competition on 9 October 2017.

• “Ruby” was published on 1 October 2017 in Dodging The Rain.

• “A pair of silk stockings” was shortlisted for the Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2016 and was published in July 2017 online in Wasafiri Magazine. 

• “A pair of silk stockings” was also shortlisted for the First Annual Short Story Competition (2016) at Dalkey Creates. 

• “Green” was published on 2 July 2017 in Occulum. 

•  “The parrotfish” was published in Bare Fiction Magazineissue 9 (print edition) on 27 April 2017.

•  “The Fiery Angel” won first prize, for the 2016 Strands International Short Story Competition and was published in the February 2017 issue of the Lakeview International Journal of Literature and Arts. 

• “Best friend” received an Honourable Mention in Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers January/February 2017.

• “The laugh” was published in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual 2017(December 2016).

•  “The ghost child” won joint Third Prize for the Fabula Press Nivalis Short Story Contest and was published in the Nivalis 2016 anthology in September 2016.

• “The scent” won second prize in the inaugural Sunday Business Post/Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize 2016 and was published in the Sunday Business Poston 24 April 2016 (please note that the link is subscription-only).

• “Jigsaw and Clown” was shortlisted for the Cúirt New Writing Prize 2015.