St Kevin’s pupil wins Edna O’Brien Young Writer’s Award
BUDDING Wicklow writer Lyla Stenson was left beyond words when she was awarded the exclusive Edna O’Brien Young Writer’s Award 2024, which will see her embark on a week-long, all-expenses-paid writing retreat in Dublin this summer.
The fifth-year student at St. Kevin’s Community College in Dunlavin is one of 15 young wordsmiths from across the country who will now be mentored through the Museum of Literature Ireland’s (MOLI) creative writing programme by a leading Irish writer, and meet with publishers, authors, literature academics and fellow writing enthusiasts.
As part of her submission for the award, Lyla entered two short pieces of writing, with the first explaining why she wanted to apply for the award and the second a sample of her creative writing, which wowed MOLI judges. Below is an extract from Lyla’s winning submission.
As Lyla’s English Teacher Emily-Anne Doyle explained, Lyla had entered the awards on two previous occasions, and with this being the final year she would be eligible to apply, the tenacious student’s face was beaming with excitement when news of her win came through.
“Lyla had to submit a short sample of her writing and an overview of why she wanted to be involved, and she came to me to look over them, and both pieces were lovely,” Emily-Anne said.
“When she heard she got the award, she was absolutely glowing. She came to tell me that she had won and wanted to thank me, but I told her I barely had to move a comma!
“There’s an age requirement on the award, from 15 to 17, and Lyla has entered the last two years, but this would have been her last year to be eligible for it.
“She was so anxious because she felt that the pieces she had submitted in previous years weren’t good enough for whatever reason, but there are only 15 of these awards given out in the country each year, so it’s a massive achievement for her and the school.
“She showed great tenacity and said she was absolutely going for it again. It’s lovely to see someone following their passion and making sure that is where they end up.”
An avid reader and linguist with a penchant for words, phrases and their origins and meanings, Lyla’s primary passion is writing fiction, a genre through which she fully intends to become part of the Irish literary landscape.
Describing Lyra as “a dream to teach”, Emily-Anne said that her infectious interest in the written word has spread throughout St Kevin’s and encouraged others to immerse themselves in the creative arts.
“She is going to be a writer, and I’m sure she’ll be visiting us in a few years as a published author,” Emily-Anne joked.
“Lyla loves to read, and she is very strong across the board academically, but it is really writing that she is passionate about and the creation of a work. She really wants to be a writer, and I know she has explored writing her own novel.
“She loves words, and you can see her eyes light up when she hears a word or phrase she hasn’t come across before, and then she goes off home later to learn about the origin of it.
“It is an absolute privilege to teach her English. I suppose teaching is a loose word for it. It’s more like Lyla sits in my class and nods in approval, reassuring that I’m doing an okay job!
“Herself and a group of girls asked me last year if we could form a creative writing group in the school, and much more than just meet up themselves, they try to facilitate initiatives and competitions within the school to promote creative writing and next year they’re looking to get local writers in to do workshops,” she continued.
“They are a fabulous group, and Lyla is certainly one of the driving forces behind it.
“Honestly, she is so talented, but you’d never meet a more modest and humble student. I couldn’t be prouder of her, and they could not have picked a more deserving student for this award.”