Founded in 2006 by the world’s first Professor of Short Fiction, Ailsa Cox, the £10,000 prize remains the only national literary award to recognise excellence in a published, single-authored short story collection.
The competition continues to celebrate both emerging and established writers, highlighting the diversity of contemporary short fiction from across the UK and Ireland.
Sarah Schofield, Edge Hill Short Story Prize organiser, said: “Short stories are the perfect vehicle to examine and explore both the small and vast complexities of being human. I love the way a short story can surprise, shock and delight, offering epiphanies into shared lived experiences.
“The collections on this longlist celebrate multiple perspectives from exciting new names and established authors. Shortlisting will be a difficult and wonderful task for our reading panel.”
In alphabetical order, the longlist in full is:
- Emma Brankin – Attention Seekers (Valley Press)
- David Frankel – Forgetting is How We Survive (Salt)
- David Gaffney – Concrete Fields (Salt)
- Tessa Hadley – After the Funeral (Jonathan Cape)
- Charlie Hill – Encounters with Everyday Madness (Roman Books)
- Abi Hynes – Monstrous Longing (Dahlia Press)
- Clare Ivory – Free Therapy (Jonathan Cape)
- Timothy J Jarvis – Treatise on Dust (Swan River Press)
- Josie Long – Because I Don’t Know What You Mean and What You Don’t (Canongate)
- Malachi McIntosh – Parables, Fables, Nightmares (The Emma Press)
- Adam Marek – The Universe Delivers the Enemy You Need (Comma Press)
- So Mayer – Truth and Dare (Cipher Press)
- Thomas Morris – Open Up (Faber)
- CD Rose – Walter Benjamin Stares at the Sea (Melville House Publishing)
This year’s longlist includes returning shortlistees Adam Marek, Thomas Morris and previous winner Tessa Hadley, alongside a range of fresh voices.
Over the next month, the longlisted stories will be considered by a panel of readers. A shortlist will be announced in October and the winner of the £10,000 prize will be revealed in February 2025.
A new £1,000 Debut Collection Award will also be presented to one of the shortlisted authors, celebrating the best new voices in short story writing.
Additionally, a £500 prize will be awarded for the best short story submitted by an Edge Hill University Postgraduate Creative Writing student.
Past winners of the prize include Sarah Hall, Kevin Barry, Daisy Johnson, and last year’s winner Bernie McGill for her collection This Train is For. McGill will also return as a judge for this year’s prize.
Find out more about Edge Hill’s Department of English and Creative Arts and the courses offered, including BA (Hons) Creative Writing and MA Creative Writing.
September 25, 2024
