28th January 2014

The search is on to find a winning author for the prestigious 2014 Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story.

Now in its eighth year, the award is organised by Edge Hill University and recognises excellence in a published single author short story collection. It is unique as it is the only such award for a whole collection from a British/Irish author in the UK.

The 2013 winner was Irish writer, former journalist and literary supernova Kevin Barry, who judge Sarah Hall described as a “master of the form.” Barry has a string of awards under his belt for writing. He was praised for his “outstanding power and range” in his winning collection Dark Lies The Island.

He will serve as a judge in the 2014 competition, alongside star Edge Hill University alumnus Carys Bray, author and winner of the inaugural Edge Hill MA Prize in 2010, and Katie Allen, editor of welovethisbook.com and former editor at thebookseller.com.

Other previous winners and shortlisted authors include Sarah Hall, Jeremy Dyson, Graham Mort, Robert Shearman, Helen Simpson, Neil Gaiman, Chris Beckett, Colm Toibin and Claire Keegan.

Prize co-ordinator Dr Ailsa Cox, Reader in Creative Writing and English at Edge Hill University, said: “Each year the competition grows stronger and stronger as more publishers recognise the significance of this unique award for the short story. I’m sure this year will be no exception and I’m confident that in our eighth year we will attract entries from a diverse range of writers, from well-established names to burgeoning new talent.”

The prize has three categories:

• The main literary award of £5,000. A panel of judges will choose the winner from a shortlist of five collections to be announced in May.

• The £1,000 Readers’ Choice, chosen from the same shortlist.

• A £500 student prize, which will reward one of the stars of Edge Hill University’s MA Creative Writing course.

Publishers are invited to submit collections for consideration up to the closing date of 3rd March. Collections must be published during 2013. For more information about the prize, visit the website www.edgehill.ac.uk/shortstory/homepage/entry/ or please contact Dr Ailsa Cox on 01695 584121.

To email entries, three copies of each published collection must be submitted to Christine Riaz, English & History Department, Edge Hill University, St Helens Rd., Ormskirk, L39 4QP. Please include email, phone number and postal address for the publisher’s representative.

http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/news/2014/01/short-story-prize-2014-call-entries/