Acclaimed author Roddy Doyle presents DCU student with Writing Award.
Monday 19 November 2007

DCU student Francis Landao has scooped first prize in the first annual Metro Eireann Writing Award for immigrant poets and authors. The talented student who is in the final year of his Masters in Marketing received a cash prize of €5,000 for his poem, The Last Moabi. Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle judged a whole host of entrants. The competition aims to create new Irish writers, and is open to people with an immigrant background, living in Ireland for at least two years.

“I’ve been writing since 1990 but I have only begun entering competitions. My ambition is to continue to develop my writing skills and use my talent to share my vision of the world with others”.

Francis has many achievements to his name. He received 3rd prize in the French section of the 17th Annual Feile Filiochta/International Poetry Competition in 2005. He also won the Comortas Filiochta Eist, 5th Annual Eist Poetry Competition. With his prize money Francis plans to take his 5-year-old daughter and his wife on a family trip to Orlando, Florida.