Uniquely, the Edge Hill University Short Story Prize is awarded for collections of short stories, rather than individual narratives, and is open to all genres – from science fiction to literary texts.

Among this year’s judges is internationally acclaimed writer Claire Keegan, whose Walk the Blue Fields won the prize last year.

“The level of intensity in the short story is very high,” says Claire. “It’s a very difficult form. One of the things that is most difficult is that it seems easy. People think because it’s short, it’s minor, so it’s wonderful to see the short story being celebrated in this way and treated as something other than a minor art.

“The short story is not a comforting read. Often it can be quite disturbing. As Frank O’Connor said in his book, A Lonely Voice, the short story is more about holding your breath than breathing.”

Competition co-ordinator, Dr Ailsa Cox, believes the short story form is making a gradual but steady recovery in the world of literature, following a protracted period of decline.

“The Edge Hill Prize is awarded to collections of short stories to encourage publishers to promote these volumes, and I think this is happening because we are seeing more and more short stories reviewed in the literary and national press,” says Ailsa, a Reader in Literature and Creative Writing at Edge Hill.

“A good short story is vital, intense and exciting. It grabs you emotionally and when you finish reading, makes you think about the world a little differently. William Boyd described the short story as a “nail bomb”, while A. L. Kennedy said it’s “small like a bullet is small”. Although these are violent images, they vividly capture the punch that the short story delivers.”

The form enjoyed its golden era before the advent of radio and, especially, television, with writers such as Edgar Alan Poe, Rudyard Kipling and F. Scott Fitzgerald prospering from writing short stories for large circulation magazines.

“Even as late as the 1960s, John Updike was making a living from short stories and they have tended to prosper more in the USA than over here,” says Ailsa. “However, there are grounds for optimism.

“The Sunday Times Magazine is now publishing a short story every week and The Independent has published short stories for a while. There’s lots of activity on the web and major publishers, as well as small presses, are showing increasing interest in the form.”

Another positive indicator is that a writer such as Helen Simpson is about to publish her fifth collection of short stories without having been pressured into writing a novel.

“This shows that it’s possible to make a literary career out of writing short stories. There won’t be an overnight explosion to worry the likes of Dan Brown, but there are signs that people are getting fed up with being offered the same stuff from novels,” adds Ailsa. “The short story is a refreshing, electrifying alternative. It lives in the moment and is immediate and contemporary in a way that a novel can’t be.”

The 2009 short (story) list

Chris Beckett
The Turing Test (Elastic Press)

These 14 stories feature robots, alien planets, genetic manipulation and virtual reality, but their centre focuses on individuals rather than technology. They deal with love and loneliness, authenticity and illusion, and what it really means to be human.

Gerard Donovan
Country of the Grand (Faber and Faber)

Donovan’s stories magnify a ‘New Ireland’ as it copes with the rewards and pressures of its fresh success: immigration, mid-life crisis, adultery and divorce, a lost sense of place and history, and, of course, what to do with all that prosperity.

Anne Enright
Yesterday’s Weather (Random House)

A series of stories about women stirred, bothered or fascinated by men they cannot understand, or understand too well. This book features characters who are haunted by the ghosts of the lives they might have led.

Shena Mackay
The Atmospheric Railway (Random House)

Contains 13 new stories and a selection of 23 more from the collections of an author who is acclaimed as one of the best short story writers in the world. Her short fiction is characterised by underlying shadows, wit and sharpness of perception.

Ali Smith
The First Person and Other Stories (Hamish Hamilton)

Distinguished by Smith’s ability to unearth flashes of truth and depth in the everyday, this collection sparkles with warmth and humour. In one story, a middle-aged woman converses with her 14 year old self. In another, a supermarket shopper finds a foul-mouthed yet beautiful child in her trolley.