We are delighted to say that all judging decisions have been made and we are thrilled to announce the 40 writers and stories selected for the 2019 Bristol Short Story Prize longlist.
We received 2,495 entries this year and feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to consider so many stories for this year’s prize. A massive thank you to everyone who entered. You have provided our readers with a wonderful reading experience.
Theme-wise, violence in all its forms dominated this year’s entries, with climate change and childhood also featuring prominently. There were far fewer historical works and dystopian stories than in previous years. Writers, it seems, are preoccupied with now, and perhaps more accurately, making sense of now.
Without our readers the Bristol Short Story Prize wouldn’t exist. A big thank you to them for their amazing conscientiousness and commitment.
And most importantly, huge congratulations to the 40 writers listed below. Being selected for this longlist is a great achievement and something to be celebrated.
The shortlist will be announced in a week’s time on July 24th, and this year’s winner, runners up and winner of the Sansom Award for Bristol-based writers will be revealed at our awards ceremony on October 12th.
2019 Bristol Short Story Prize Longlist
(A-Z by author’s last name)
Sarah Frances Armstrong All Creatures Great and Small
Alison Bacon Within These Walls
S Bhattacharya-Woodward Zolo
Samir Bhimji Grace the Worm
Rua Breathnach The Bridge
Mattie Brennan The Last of the Inglorious Revolutionaries
Sabah Carrim The Evil in Me
Mona Dash The Sense of Skin
Jason Deelchand All for Love
Khadija Dyer Salt
Flic Everett The End of the Neighbourhood
Louise Farr Eight Foot Jesus
Hannah Fox Burying Kim
Marie-Gabrielle Gallard Black Cross
Lucy Grace Sand Seven
Kavita A Jindal Tulip Persimmon’s Head-Wetting
Rebecca F John The Sea Thief
Mubanga Kalimamukwento The Devil’s Ivy
Sonal Kohli The Outing
Mel Konner By the Sea
Richard Lakin Cabbage Trace
Ferdia Lennon Even the Gods
Rose McDonagh Dog’s Bone
Foday Mannah Amie Samba
Michael Morrell Interaction
Rupert Murray The Agency on Wilshire Blvd
Thiva Narayanan Sleeper/The Mole
Sal Page I’m Walking
Nicholas Petty These Violent Hands
Victoria Richards The Girl in the Photograph
Cherise Saywell Fellow Travellers
Claire Snook Sarah Turns Sixteen
Cameron Stewart Black Snow
Carina Swantee The Farmhand
Jo Tiddy The Hunter
Sophie Tiefenbacher Tiger Meat
Liz Tresidder From the Forest
Sean Watkin I Walked There
Alison White The Butcher’s Van
Colette Willis It’s So Pretty Here When the Sun Shines
Notable Contenders
(these stories were in the running for the longlist until the final decisions were made)
Ana de Andrada Everything is Ready
Regi Claire (Un)certainties
Louise Finnigan Trails
Rebecca Gabay On the Rocks
Helena Gadelha The Brilliance of Dom Pedro II
Sean Lusk A Thick Skin
Christopher Rowson The Butterfly Man
Martina Ryan Kitchen Guy, Husband Guy, Dog
