Feb 13, 2019 | Joe Melia
Congratulations to Angela Readman, who was shortlisted for the BSSP in 2012 and published in our 5th anthology . Angela’s debut novel, Something Like Breathing, has just been published by leading UK indie publisher And Other Stories.It has been receiving some great reviews. Sarah Gilmartin, writing in the Irish Times says: ‘From the wilderness of the…
Jan 21, 2019 | Joe Melia
The new year has started very well for Bethan James, who was shortlisted for last year’s Bristol Short Story Prize with her brilliant story, Waste. She has been signed by literary agent, Harry Illingworth of the DHH Literary Agency. Bethan says: “I’m utterly delighted to be signed Harry Illingworth at DHH – it’s home to…
Dec 18, 2018 | Joe Melia
Our 2014 winner, Mahsuda Snaith, has received some great news: her debut novel The Things We Thought We Knew has been selected as one of the books to be given away on World Book Night next year. Mahsuda’s book is one of 23 to be chosen for the major event. The list also includes titles…
Nov 28, 2018 | Joe Melia
Jonathan Pinnock, who was shortlisted for the 3rd Bristol Short Story Prize in 2010, has recently had his 2nd book of the year published, The Truth about Archie and Pie. The novel, published by Farrago, has been receiving lots of praise, including from publisher Scott Pack, who calls it “Funny, clever and sometimes brilliantly daft.”…
Nov 24, 2018 | Joe Melia
Big congratulations to Rachel Sargeant, who was shortlisted for our 2010 prize. Rachel’s fourth novel, The Roommates, will be published by HarperCollins next year. Rachel’s most recent novel, The Perfect Neighbours, was a top ten Kindle bestseller and sold over 100,000 copies. As well as being shortlisted for out 2010 writing competition she has won…
Nov 08, 2018 | Joe Melia
There is more good news for Chloe Wilson, who recently won 2nd prize in our 2018 writing competition. Chloe has been signed by literary agent Kate Johnson of the New York based MacKenzie Wolf Literary Agency. Kate chaired this year’s Bristol Short Story Prize judging panel. Chloe is based in Melbourne, Australia. She has written…
Nov 05, 2018 | Joe Melia
Our awards ceremonies are always a great celebration of our writing competitions. We get to meet some of the shortlisted writers whose stories have illuminated our year and they get to meet each other. The Reading Room at Bristol Central Library provides the most appropriate setting. Our guest speaker was visionary publisher at Dialogue Books,…
Oct 04, 2018 | Joe Melia
Following on from yesterday’s post, here are the other 10 brilliant writers who are in the running for this year’s first prize. We will be announcing our winning writer and story, and publishing our brilliant new anthology a week on Saturday. The anthology is available to pre-order here. Martin Pevsner is a writer of novels…
Oct 03, 2018 | Joe Melia
With just 10 days to go until we announce the winner of the 2018 Bristol Short Story Prize and publish out 11th anthology, we thought it was high time we let you know a bit more about the 20 brilliant writers who are in the running for this year’s first prize. Here are 10 of…
Sep 12, 2018 | Joe Melia
Huge congratulations to Jane Healey who has secured a significant publishing deal for her debut novel The Animals at Lockwood Manor through her agent, Hayley Steed, at the Madeline Milburn Literary Agency. Major Pan Macmillan imprint, Mantle, bought Jane’s gothic romance in a heated seven-way auction. US rights have been bought by Helen Atsma at…
Jul 20, 2018 | Joe Melia
Congratulations to Emma Timpany whose novella, Travelling in the Dark, has just been published by Fairlight Books. From the publisher’s website: “Set in the wild, beautiful and unreliable landscape of southern New Zealand, Emma Timpany’s novella is an evocative story of a woman coming to terms with her past.” The book has had some excellent…
Jun 20, 2018 | Joe Melia
Congratulations to Martin Nathan whose debut novel, A Place of Safety, has just been published by Salt Publishing. From Salt’s website: “A boy exiles himself from his family through a shocking act of violence. Years later, having built a new life he returns to try to understand his past. He attempts to reconcile with his…
Mar 06, 2018 | Joe Melia
Congratulations to Magdalena McGuire whose debut novel Home is Nearby has recently been published by Impress Books. Magdalena won 3rd prize in the 2015 Bristol Short Story Prize for her story Birthday Bones, which was published in our 8th anthology. Magdalena was born in Poland, and grew up in Australia. She lives in Melbourne and…
Dec 21, 2017 | Joe Melia
Back in 2009, Australian-based writer Elizabeth Jane Corbett won the Bristol Short Story Prize for her brilliant story Beyond the Blackout Curtain. And it’s great to see that Elizabeth’s debut novel, The Tides Between, has recently been published. We took the opportunity to find out more about the novel and Elizabeth’s writing. When did you…
Dec 15, 2017 | Joe Melia
Congratulations to our recently-crowned 2017 winner, Dima Alzayat, who has been signed by literary agent Juliet Pickering of the prestigious Blake Friedmann agency. Juliet, who was on this year’s judging panel, says of Dima’s writing: “It sounds really clichéd to say, but from the very first time I read Ghusl (Dima’s winning story), I wanted…
