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Bristol Short Story Prize

@bristolshortstory.bsky.social

The Bristol Short Story Prize is an international writing competition hosted by the Department of English at the University of Bristol. https://bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk

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Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 2d ago

Meet our 2027 judges, Eley Williams, Billy Kahora, and Ludo Cinelli!

Eley Williams
An award-winning short story writer, Eley Williams was selected as one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists in 2023.
With writing anthologised in Modern Queer Poets and The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story, Eley Williams’ publications include the award-winning novel The Liar’s Dictionary and two collections of fiction, most recently Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good (4th Estate, 2024). She is Course Director for Granta's Literary Short Fiction writing workshops and is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Find her on Instagram and X: @giantratsumatra.

Billy Kahora
Billy Kahora is an author and Lecturer in Creative and Professional Writing at the University of Bristol.
Billy Kahora is the author of The True Story Of David Munyakei (2010), a work of non-fiction, and a short story collection, The Cape Cod Bicycle War (2019). His short fiction and creative non-fiction have appeared in Chimurenga, McSweeney’s, Granta Online, Internazionale, Vanity Fair and Kwani?.

He was Managing Editor of Kwani Trust, a Nairobi-based literary network, between 2007-2017. Kahora is a past recipient of the Chevening Scholarship, an Iowa Writers’ Fellowship and recently the President’s Award at the University of Manchester where he received his PhD in Creative Writing in November 2023. He teaches Creative Writing at the University of Bristol. He is also founding co-editor of the Pfumo Collective.

Ludo Cinelli
A Literary Agent at Eve White Literary Agency, Ludo was shortlisted as British Book Awards Literary Agent of the Year in 2022 and 2026.
Ludo is an Agent and the Managing Director at Eve White Literary Agency. He joined the company in 2017 and began to grow his list of clients in 2018. He has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London.
He represents fiction, non-fiction and children’s authors across genres.
He says: “The books I love might challenge me with their ideas and style, but they might also be a simple story beautifully told, an expert’s new take on a familiar subject, or just incredibly fun. I do this job because of the variety, the excitement, and the potential it offers. I take pride in building strong, long-lasting relationships with my clients and publishing colleagues alike.”
In his spare time, he enjoys good and bad films, cooking and eating, and sporadically attempting to improve at chess.
Find him on Instagram: @ludocinelli

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · last wk.

Congratulations Maureen Cullen! Cullen’s short story collection, Havoc Shore, has been longlisted for The Saltires Fiction Book of the year 2026! Cullen’s short story, Havoc Shore, was first shortlisted in the 2018 Bristol Prize and published in Volume 11 of our anthology

Pictures show Maureen and the cover of BSSP volume 11.

Text reads: congratulations Maureen Cullen!

Cullen’s short story collection, Havoc Shore, has been longlisted for The Saltires Fiction Book of the year 2026!

Cullen’s short story, Havoc Shore, was first shortlisted in the 2018 Bristol Prize and published in Volume 11 of our anthology.

Picture shows the cover of Havoc Shore, the short story collection.

Text underneath reads: In 2025, Ringwood Publishing published, Havoc Shore, the short story collection, inspired by Cullen’s hometown of Dumbarton. Havoc Shore is currently longlisted for The Saltires Fiction Book of the year 2026: Scotland’s National Book Awards.

A huge congratulations to Maureen and we wish her continued success!

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 2w ago

We are open for submissions! Go to our website, bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/entry-form/, to read the rules and enter. Bristol Short Story Prize, in partnership with Tangent books, is open from 1st October and closes on 8th January. Happy writing and good luck!

Blue background with a photo of the BSSP anthology Volume 18 in the middle. Text reads:

1st Prize: £1500.
2nd Prize: £500.
3rd Prize: £250.

Shortlisted entries will receive £50and be published in our print anthology by Tangent Books

A number of free entries are available for those on low incomes or without paid employment

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · last mo.

The Bristol Short Story Prize 2027 will open for submissions again on 1st October 2026 and closes on 8th January 2027. Keep an eye on our socials for updates!

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Congratulations Johanna on the publication of her novel, Heartbreaker! In 2022, Johanna won the Sanson Prize and came third overall in the Bristol Short Story Prize for her short story OldFish. Pre-order your copy of Heartbreaker here: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HDV9FTS...

PUBLICATION NEWS: JOHANNA SPIERS

JOHANNA SPIERS
HEART BREAKER

OUT ON 15TH OCTOBER
2026!

'Vividly unique and moving'
Sophie Hannah

'An edge-of-your-seat romcom'
Joanna Nadin

Who would you spend the rest of your life with if the rest of your life might be shorter than you thought?
Morgan knows that her ex-boyfriend David is wrong for her. Although he broke her heart when he ghosted her two years ago, she has moved on now. She also knows he's wrong about her - because he's just mistakenly posted a message online, announcing her death.
Although it's true that Morgan has a serious heart disease (which she doesn't like to think about), she has a lot of life still to live. She wants to focus on being happy and healthy with her new man, Rupert, a sweet history teacher who she thought loved her unconditionally. There's only one problem: after reading the mistaken post, Rupert seems less upset than David by Morgan's so-called death. And... shouldn't her current boyfriend be sadder than her ex?
While dealing with the fallout from David's online error, Morgan receives devastating news. Suddenly, she has to work out the answer to a huge question:
Which of these two men does she really want to love for the rest of her life?

Congratulations Johanna on the publication of her novel, Heartbreaker!
In 2022, Johanna won the Sanson Prize and came third overall in the Bristol Short Story Prize for her short story OldFish. We are delighted to see her continued success.
Find out more about her new novel at johannaspiers.com and download the free prequel!

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Now that our winners have been announced and Volume 18 has launched, we would like to take the time to thank everyone who has made Bristol Short Story Prize possible this year! Purchase your copy of Volume 18 at www.tangentbooks.co.uk

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The Winner of the 2026 Bristol Short Story Prize is 'Green Green Grass' by William Weightman, a story that renders, through the unlikely medium of one man's minute-by-minute diary, the tensions coiled within the routines of a long marriage.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Second Prize goes to Laura Kyle for 'Cailín Cróga', a coming-of-age story told in the voice of an Irish girl sent away from home for a summer that turns out to be far from what was advertised.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

We are honoured to announce 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place winners for Bristol Short Story Prize 2026! Third Prize goes to Avantika Chilkoti for 'Demolitions', a story set in a Mumbai apartment block which unfolds the uneasy relationship between a domestic worker and the woman who employs her.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Writers Spotlight number 3: Last but not least, we have our excellent writers: @jonathanpage-bw.bsky.social, Eliza Robertson, Shabnam Shokoohi, and William Weightman. First, second and third place will be announced tomorrow at the University of Bristol Writers Day! www.tangentbooks.co.uk

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Shortlisted Author spotlight number 2! We can’t wait to announce the winners and launch our anthology on the 6th June! In the meantime, check out some more of our shortlisted authors and pre-order your copy here: www.tangentbooks.co.uk/shop/p/pre-o...

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Spotlight: 2026 shortlisted writers In the run up to our winners announcement on the 6th June, have a closer look at our amazing shortlisted writers for 2026! More spotlights will be coming out later this week. @hussani14.bsky.social

Hussani Abdulrahim is a writer from Nigeria. He won the 2023 Writivism Prize, the 2022 Toyin Falola Prize and WRR’s 2016 Green Author Prize. Hussani was shortlisted for the 2024 ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award. His work has appeared in Boston Review, Evergreen Review, Ubwali Lit Mag, ZamaShort and Flame Tree Writers Workshop Anthology. Hussani lives in northern Nigeria and is working on a novel and a short story collection.

Christian Anthony was born in Essex and works as an English and Drama teacher, having previously worked as a journalist. His story ‘Vauxhall’ was shortlisted for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2026, and his story ‘Southend’ was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2025.

Erika Banerji was born in Assam and grew up in New Delhi before moving to London in her early twenties. She has a doctorate in English Literature and is a graduate of the Faber Academy Novel course and the inaugural London Library Emerging Writers Programme. In 2025 she won the Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Prize for her story ‘Christopher’. Her work has appeared in journals and anthologies and listed for awards including the Bridport, Brick Lane Bookshop, V. S. Pritchett and Fish. When not writing she enjoys going for long woodland walks with her dog. She is currently working on a novel and a collection of short stories.

Avantika Chilkoti is a staff writer at The Economist. She has reported from dozens of countries and been based in London, Mumbai and Jakarta as a foreign correspondent. She writes fiction in her spare time, much of it inspired by her journalism. She is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and Harvard University, where she was a Kennedy Scholar.

Timothy Collyer is a British short story writer and multiple Pushcart Prize nominee. He won the Flash 500 Prize and the Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition. His work has appeared in The Threepenny Review, Nebula and Clockhouse. He lives in Wiltshire and writes literary and speculative fiction.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Illustration spotlight! 4. Felix Swift @gkweezy uses mixed media collage that made us want to pick up the book and feel the change in texture. The use of colour and shape suggests landscapes, city skylines and characters waiting to tell their stories.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Illustration spotlight! 3. Holley Ayers-Durbin @ha.illustrates has really considered what a short story is in this design. Each door can open up to a new story, while the silhouetted figures invite us to ask questions about the characters to be found within.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Illustration spotlight! 2. Holly Honeyfield @hollyhoneyfield shows incredible illustrations and composition in a cover that is as unique as each short story. We could spend hours finding new details in each character.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Illustration spotlight! 1. Zsuzsanna Vingh @bluewolfey goes back to the origins of stories with the figures around the campfire. We loved the bold figures and their rapt expressions, and the fire at the centre that seems to leap off the cover.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 5mo ago

BSSP Anthology Vol 18 cover shortlist

Every year BSSP has the privilege of working with the UWE Illustration Course students to design a cover for our anthology.
We were so impressed with the designs submitted for the 2026, Volume 18 Anthology. The range of creative talent on display was truly spectacular, and it was a tough job whittling down this shortlist. The BSSP team enlisted the help of book sellers, publishers, agents and writers, to help chose our final four. The winning cover will be revealed when the publication for the 2026, Volume 18 Anthology is announced.
Find our shortlisted illustrators over on Instagram!
Holly Ayers-Durbin @ha.illustrates
Zsuzsanna Vigh @bluewolfey
Felix Swift @qkweezy
Holly Honeyfield @hollyhoneyfield
Spotlights on each of these covers will come out over the next week, so keep an eye out for those to see the designs in more detail.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 6mo ago

We are delighted to announce the 2026 Bristol Short Story Prize shortlist! These 15 writers are in the running for this year’s top prize and their shortlisted stories will all be published in our volume 18 anthology.

The winner and two runners up of the 2026 Bristol Short Story Prize will be announced at a special event at the end of June, more details to come. This will also be the official launch date of this year’s anthology

A huge thank you to our incredible judging panel: Daisy Johnson, Celeste Mohammad, Claire Carroll, Zakiya Mckenzie, and Michael Kalisch, who were so generous with their time, knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm. They have ensured that we are able to publish a dazzling anthology.

Many congratulations to the writers below, we are thrilled to be publishing your stories. And good luck for the rest of this year’s competition.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 7mo ago

We are excited to announce the BSSP 2026 longlist! As our awards are judged blind, authors’ names will be kept under wraps until judging is complete.  In the meantime, congratulations to the authors of the 2026 Bristol Short Story Prize longlist!

2026 Longlist

All Good
Cailín Cróga
Clean
Deafening Silence
Demolitions
Elke
Family Mausoleum
Four Lives
Green Green Grass
Happiness is Hard to Find
I'm the thing at the bottom of the well
Mating Rites
Mildew
Other Side of the System
Perfect Day
Redwater
Scab
Soho
Tatyana and the Cable Man
The Bone Orchard
The DNA Guys
The Experiment
The Goat Who Knew Too Much
The Maryport Village Group
The Price of Daffodils
This is Love
Too Well and Not At All
Two Lads on a Delhi Street
Unspoken
Watered Bodies

First, we would like to express our profound appreciation to everyone who has entered. For the 2026 competition year, we received over 1,400 short stories from around 70 countries, and the overall standard was extremely high.

As our awards are judged blind, authors’ names will be kept under wraps until judging is complete. In the meantime, congratulations to the authors of the 2026Bristol Short Story Prize longlist. 

The Bristol Short Story Prize shortlist, as judged by Daisy Johnson, Celeste Mohammad, Claire Carroll, Zakiya Mckenzie, and Michael Kalisch, will be announced in April 2026.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Submissions for the 2026 prize year are now closed. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who entered this year’s competition. We are extremely grateful for the time, care, and creativity that went into each story. Keep an eye on our website and socials for announcements!

Submissions for the 2026 prize year are now closed. The 2027 prize will open again in autumn 2026.

Our judges are now reading, and the competition timeline is as follows:

Longlist announcement: March 2026
Shortlist announcement: April 2026
Winners announcement: June 2026, at the Writer’s Day event at the University of Bristol

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 9mo ago

The Bristol Short Story Prize 2026 closes for submissions on 31st January at 22:59. You have 1 day, 8 hours (And counting) left to Submit your short story here: bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/entry-form/ Best of luck to all the writers who’ve entered!

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 9mo ago

The Bristol Short Story prize anthology has had some spectacular covers over the years. Here’s just a small selection! Which one is your favourite? There are 4 days left to enter your short story into the competition. Shortlisted stories will be published in our 2026 anthology!

9 Volumes of the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology are laid out on a table showing thew front covers. The volumes are:

- Vol 2
- Vol 3
- Vol4
- Vol 6
- Vol 8
- Vol 11
- Vol 12
- Vol 15
- The Winners edition

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 9mo ago

There’s one week left to enter the Bristol Short Story Prize! The competition closes on 31st January at 11:59PM GMT Here is the link to enter: bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/entry-form/

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Success stories: Stephen Narain. A huge congratulations to Stephen Narain, whose novel, The Church of Mastery, was recently awarded the 2025 Restless Books Kellman Prize! The Church of Mastery will be published in 2027. Read more about Stephen’s writer journey here: news.miami.edu/as/stories/2...

Pale pick background with photo of Stephen Narain. Text underneath reads:

Success stories: Stephen Narain
A huge congratulations to Stephen Narain, whose novel, The Church of Mastery, was recently awarded the 2025 Restless Books Kellman Prize!
The Church of Mastery will be published in 2027.
Stephen was the winner of the 2020 Bristol Short Story Prize with his story, What In Me Is Dark, Illumine, which is published in our Volume 13 anthology by Tangent books.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Two weeks until the BSSP 2026 closes! With two weeks left until the Bristol Short Story Prize 2026 closes for submissions, let’s look back at the first lines of some winners from previous years. Do you have a great first line?

Black text on a pale green background reads:

"There are lots of ways to remember that day; the day I became a bird.'
Kakahu, by Stephanie Seddon
Winner of the BSSP 2016, Volume 9.

"The jungle gym was a gift from Richard Turnbull to his little stepdaughter, two weeks before his plane went down on a private flight from Cleveland to Colorado'
Cowboy Boot, by Dizz Tate
Winner of the BSSP 2018, Volume 11.

"The revolutionary did not look like a "revolutionary"'
What In Me Is Dark, Illumine, by Stephen Narain
Winner of the BSSP 2020, Volume 13.

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Happy new year writers! There is still time to enter into the Bristol Short Story Competition! We have a number of free entry options available for those on low income or without paid employment. Here is the link to enter: bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/entry-form/

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Agent and competition news: Redfern Jon Barrett! Congratulations @redfernjon.bsky.social on 1st runner up in the Leapfrog Prize and on your agent representation!

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Writer success: Anne Wilkins! Read more about Anne’s story in this interview with Kandisha Press: kandishapress.com/2025/10/11/a...

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Meet our 2026 judges: Michael Kalisch! www.bristol.ac.uk/people/perso...

Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Meet our 2026 Judges: Zakiya McKenzie!