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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 Prize 2022 longlist announced including first posthumous collection

June 21, 2022

The longlist for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, the only one of its kind in the UK, has been announced.

A close up of a type writer with a white sheet of paper including the typed words 'Short Story'.

The longlist for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, the only one of its kind in the UK, has been announced.

The prestigious prize, now in its 16th year, is the only national literary award to recognise excellence in a published, single-authored short story collection.

The fourteen-strong longlist represents an exciting range of new writing from the UK and Ireland.

Billy Cowan, organiser of the prize, said: “The quality of entries this year has been exceptionally high and our readers have worked hard to narrow them down to a list that includes three previous shortlisted writers, seven debut collections, and our first posthumous collection, English Magic by Uschi Gatward.

“The majority of work has come from small independent publishers, who continue to enthusiastically support the short-story form.”

The longlist in full is:

  • How to Gut a Fish Sheila Armstrong (Bloomsbury)
  • Man-hating Psycho Iphgenia Baal (Influx Press)
  • Human Terrain Emily Bullock (Reflex Press)
  • Fugitive David Butler (Arlen House)
  • Intimacies Lucy Caldwell (Faber
  • Dance Move Wendy Erskine (Stinging Fly)
  • English Magic Uschi Gatward (Galley Beggar Press)
  • Fauna David Hartley (Fly on the Wall Press)
  • Marching Season Rosemary Jenkinson (Arlen House)
  • Dark Neighbourhood Vanessa Onwuemezi (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
  • Am I in the Right Place Ben Pester (Boiler House Press)
  • Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love Huma Qureshi (Sceptre)
  • Send Nudes Saba Sams (Bloomsbury)
  • The Map Waits Sharon Telfer (Reflex Press)

The Edge Hill Short Story Prize continues to gain momentum year on year and previous winners include acclaimed authors such as Sarah Hall, David Szalay, Tessa Hadley, Kevin Barry and Daisy Johnson.

Founded in 2006 by the world’s first Professor of Short Fiction, Ailsa Cox, the prize highlights the intricate artisanship of short story writing and acknowledges the wealth of published collections available.

A short list will be announced by September, with the winner of the £10,000 prize announced in November.

The judges of the 2022 prize are 2021 winner Kevin Barry, development agent at the Good Literary Agency, Arzu Tahsin and short story writer and Edge Hill Creative Writing lecturer, Sarah Schofield.

A £1,000 Reader’s Choice Award will also be presented to one of the shortlisted authors and there will be a £500 prize for the best short story submitted by an Edge Hill University MA Creative Writing student.

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.

June 21, 2022

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