Keza O’Neill’s ‘The Man on the Train’ has been crowned the winner of the 2025 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition.
The award recognises the very best unpublished short stories in English in any style and on any subject up to a maximum of 5,000 words by writers aged 18 or over who were born in Wales, have lived in Wales for two years or more, or are currently living in Wales.
‘The Man on the Train’ tells the story of an unnamed man travelling towards Aberystwyth - 'home' - after twenty years. As he passes through various stations along the way, he wrestles with his own internal thought processes punctuated by childhood memories.
Originally from Aberystwyth and now living in Bristol, 49-year-old Keza said: “It’s a privilege to be recognised among such a talented shortlist and alongside the amazing writers who’ve won this award before. This moment feels surreal, and I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share my story with readers.
“My story, ‘The Man on the Train’, comes from a place close to my heart. It’s inspired by a train journey I’ve taken countless times, with the conductor’s familiar chant of place names stirring up excitement, longing or sometimes a heavy heart. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of home, what it means, how we carry it with us, reach for it or even turn away from it in moments of joy or pain. The story digs into that urgent pull to return home at the end of life, where time, space, memory and the present all collide.
“To have my work recognised by Cynan Jones, whose stories capture the raw, beautiful truth of human experience, means the world to me. Welsh writing has such a gorgeous mix of poetry, grit and soul, with a rich history and so many vibrant voices today. I’m truly honoured to be even a small part of that tradition.”
Originally established in 1991, there have been 12 Rhys Davies Short Story Award contests to date, and in 2021 the competition was relaunched by Swansea University’s Cultural Institute on behalf of The Rhys Davies Trust and in association with Parthian Books.
Acclaimed fiction writer and guest judge Cynan Jones said: “‘The Man on the Train’ feels written right on the edge of instinct, and a writer can talk themselves out of that, particularly when they are trying something unconventional. A kind of doubt can rush in, then you find yourself taming the more dangerous choices you've made. But if you can get the story off the desk before that demon on your shoulder starts muttering in your ear, then it arrives with the reader with all that edge and risk too. And that can make it a rare thing. Ultimately, this story stayed in the mind more viscerally than the others. And that's why it won.”
As the winner, Keza receives £1,000, and her story will feature in the Rhys Davies Short Story Award Anthology 2025, published by Parthian in October. Stories from the other finalists will also appear in the anthology.
Winner Keza, judge Cynan Jones, editor Elaine Canning, and Richard Davies of Parthian, and the finalists of the 2025 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition will discuss the anthology at its free book launch at Swansea’s Waterstones on Monday 20 October at 6pm.