The shortlists for Emerging Poetry and Emerging Fiction will be published over the next two weeks. This year's judges are the West Indian poet, novelist and short story writer EA (Archie) Markham, who was shortlisted for the TS Eliot poetry award in 2002, and Glenn Patterson, the Northern Ireland novelist whose 1988 debut novel Burning Your Own won the Rooney Prize. Each category winner receives a trophy and 1,500, and an overall New Irish Writer of the Year, chosen from the three winners, receives a further 2,500.

Sarah Purcell grew up in Monaghan. A DCU Communications graduate, she worked in film before moving to New York in 2001. She has been published in V and UNleashed magazines. Now living in Los Angeles with actor/writer Barry McEvoy; she is working on a novel titled Weedglitter.

Ronan Doyle was born in Co Galway.

He has a BA in English Literature and Philosophy and an MA in Journalism. He has travelled widely and lived in Japan for two years. He currently lives in Dublin, attending Trinity College and working as an English teacher. Since appearing in New Irish Writing he has been published in the Stinging Fly Press collection These Are Our Lives, and was winner of its inaugural short fiction award.

John Murphy is originally from Stoneybatter, Dublin. He is a senior lecturer in Computer Science at DCU. He was educated at St Paul's CBS at North Brunswick Street and Trinity College Dublin. He has published poetry in Poetry Ireland Review.

His current work includes a book of loosely interlocking short stories set in the Stoneybatter area. He is working on his first novel.

Michael Donohue was born in Newbridge, Co Kildare, and studied at University College Dublin before taking up a scholarship at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. His poetry has been published in New York's Vice Magazine and in Soma Soma Scene, Quentin Crisp's Homepage and New Voice Writing Magazine on the web. He lives in London and reads regularly at The Poetry Cafe. He recently completed his first novel.

Mark Ryan lives on the edge of an old bog in West Clare where "my wife paints, my daughter chases its frogs and dragonflies and I walk through it, putting together stories and notions. Other days I work around the peninsula as an electrician". He was an actor for a while at the Tower Theatre in London and at Andrew's Lane, and studied Literature and Philosophy. He was shortlisted in the Irish Post and long-listed in the Fish competition. He's working on a novel, In Sexton's Field.

Brenda Murphy was born and lives in Belfast. Most of her earlier writing was for the theatre and includes Forced Upon Us, Working Class Heroes, and Hold On, which won 4Front award in London 2006. Brenda won NESTA award 2003 and has completed her first collection of poetry. She is now working on her first novel.