Friday Five: Frazzled Lit short story winner Gary Finnegan

‘I am trying to get over a bad habit of submitting every piece of fiction I write.’

Gary Finnegan‘s short story “Limbo Nights,” which won first place in the Frazzled Lit 2025 short story competition, has been described as “a word-perfect gallop through the highs and lows of a post-Leaving Cert trip, and the swift transition from irresponsible child to semi-responsible adult-in-training.” The story is also praised for its “Great imagery and dialogue,” and I agree wholeheartedly.

An accomplished journalist as well as a writer of fiction, Gary is based in Kildare, Ireland. His writing has appeared in The Hooghly Review, The London Magazine, Litro, Flash Fiction Magazine, Roi Fainéant, and elsewhere. Read on to learn more about the inspiration for “Limbo Nights,” Gary’s upcoming projects, his advice to other writers, and more.

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Celebrate Hispanic heritage: read Hispanic/Latinx writers

‘… culture shapes identity and defines possibility’ and ‘teaches us who we are, what to believe, and how to dream.’

National Hispanic Heritage Month is upon us once again in the USA, and as has become my custom, I plan to devote quite a bit of my reading time to literature by people of Hispanic heritage this month.

I think it’s important to appreciate, learn from, and celebrate the contributions of cultures beyond our mainstream American culture. I agree with the words of actress, director, and producer America Ferrera, who writes in her introduction to America Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures, “culture shapes identity and defines possibility” and “teaches us who we are, what to believe, and how to dream. We should all be able to look at the world around us and see a reflection of our true lived experiences. Until then, the American story will never be complete.”

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