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A close up of a type writer with a white sheet of paper including the typed words 'Short Story'. Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2023.
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Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2024 announces longlist of exceptional literary talent

September 25, 2024

The longlist has been announced for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2024 as the competition enters its 18th year.

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 BrankinAttention Seekers (Valley Press)
  • David Frankel Forgetting is How We Survive (Salt)
  • David GaffneyConcrete Fields (Salt)
  • Tessa HadleyAfter the Funeral (Jonathan Cape)
  • Charlie HillEncounters with Everyday Madness (Roman Books)
  • Abi HynesMonstrous Longing (Dahlia Press)
  • Rebecca IvoryFree Therapy (Jonathan Cape)
  • Timothy J JarvisTreatises on Dust (Swan River Press)
  • Josie LongBecause I Don’t Know What You Mean and What You Don’t (Canongate)
  • Malachi McIntosh Parables, Fables, Nightmares (The Emma Press)
  • Adam MarekThe Universe Delivers the Enemy You Need (Comma Press)
  • So MayerTruth and Dare (Cipher Press)
  • Thomas MorrisOpen Up (Faber)
  • CD RoseWalter Benjamin Stares at the Sea (Melville House Publishing)
Bernie McGill
Bernie McGill

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

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