Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story
The £5,000 Edge Hill Prize is awarded annually by Edge Hill University for excellence in a published single author short story collection. In addition to the main award, there is a £1,000 Readers Prize judged by A-level English students and an additional category worth £500 acknowledging rising talents on the University’s MA Creative Writing course.
Recipients of the 2011 awards will be presented at Blackwell Bookshop on Charing Cross Road, London, in July. Publishers are invited to submit collections for consideration up to the closing date of 1st March 2011 (subject to eligiblity criteria). A shortlist of five will be announced by 31st May 2011.
Edge Hill Prize
Famous screenwriter and co-creator of The League of Gentlemen Jeremy Dyson was named the winner of the 2010 Edge Hill Prize for his collection of macabre short stories, The Cranes that Build the Cranes.
Encouraging others to take up short story writing, Jeremy said: “It is a vocation and a passion and if you have it in your heart then write short stories and make sure you get them out there, enter competitions, send to magazines and make sure people read them. It is the oldest form of writing and I hope that people recognise and celebrate this.”
Readers Prize
The Readers prize is judged by groups of A-level English students from the North West, in a bid to engage young people with literature.
In 2010, the award went to Robert Shearman for his work Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical.
Upon receiving the accolade, Rob said: “To win the Readers’ Prize means so much to me because it raises the profile of what the short story is all about – it is readable and fun and builds a complete world. Knowing that my collection appealed to the younger generation is also thrilling because they are the writers of our tomorrow.”
MA Creative Writing Prize
The MA Creative Writing prize acknowledges one of the University’s aspiring literary stars.
The inaugural 2010 Creative Writing prize was awarded to rising talent Carys Bray for her story Just in Case.
Carys said: “I particularly love writing short stories because it is amazing what can be achieved in such a condensed space. Sadness, humour and many other emotions can all be expressed in the short story and that’s what I enjoy about it.”
Further Information
For more information on the Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/shortstory or contact Ailsa Cox by calling 01695 584121 or emailing coxa@edgehill.ac.uk.