Description
Twelve stories selected from hundreds of entries to the 2023 Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize; a showcase of some of the boldest new voices in short fiction.
The 2023 competition was judged by Kiya Evans (Mushens Entertainment), Gurnaik Johal, author of We Move (Serpent’s Tail) and 2023 Somerset Maugham Award winner, and Melissa Cox, Publishing Director for Zaffre at Bonnier Books.
The Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize was created in 2019 as a celebration of the short story form and the resilience of independent booksellers. Funded by Brick Lane Bookshop, the competition is open to all UK residents and seeks to discover, publish and promote new, exciting and diverse voices in fiction.
The Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize has new sponsorship for 2023 from literary agency Mushens Entertainment, and a partnership with Spread the Word.
Praise for previous anthologies:
‘The BLB SSP longlist is testament to the breadth and imagination of a new generation of writers, and the elasticity of the short-story form. We read stories that were funny, sexy, deeply sad, and very strange. We read them not knowing a thing about their authors, finding ourselves amazed again and again by the talent on display. It’s a wonderful list.’ – Anne Meadows
‘Exceptional stories, each so startlingly different, yet all stay with you. A true celebration of the short-story form.’ – Huma Qureshi
‘The stories on this longlist showcase the range and excitement of the form – read them for their invention and imagination, and for their abilities to move, surprise and amuse.’ – Chris Wellbelove
‘As a short story writer and reader, I don’t need much convincing of the special power of the form, but these entries confirmed it once more – and most emphatically!’ – Wendy Erskine
‘An illuminating and vivid range of stories from an exciting array of new voices already so accomplished in their craft.’ – Sharmaine Lovegrove
