Our first in-person awards ceremony since 2019 was held at Watershed in the centre of Bristol and was also streamed via Zoom.
The first presentation of the evening went to this year’s anthology cover designer, Martyna Gradziel.
Johanna Spiers won the Sansom Award for the highest placed story by a Bristol based writer. Her story, OldFish will be published online by Bristol 24/7. The award was announced by Bristol publishing legend, Angela Sansom.
Judge, Jess Taylor announced the top three prize winners. Third prize also went to Johanna Spiers. Jess calls Johanna’s story “An arresting tale of grief and revenge, told in a language all too familiar to us today. This powerful story forces us to think about the lengths we will go to for justice.”
Sufiyaan Salam won second prize with his story, Wimmy Road Boyz. Judge Tom Drake-Lee says the story “fizzes with enormous energy to reveal the complex lives of friends as they wrestle with the nature of friendship, identity and culture. It is extraordinary. “
And Diana Powell was announced as the winner of the 2022 Bristol Short Story Prize for her story, A Cure for All Our Ills. Diana read from her winning story. Judge Irenosen Okojie hails it as “a brilliant, hypnotic piece from an exciting voice. I had the feeling of holding my breath through this story. From its powerful, palpable opening, I was immediately invested. The use of tension, the exploration of religion, of a sacred space becoming dark and unknown propels this world forward. Every word on the page is earned.”
It was great that 12 of this year’s shortlisted writers could be at the awards ceremony to celebrate together.
This year’s 20 shortlisted stories including the top 3 prize winners are available now in our Volume 15 anthology direct from the publisher Tangent Books, or can be ordered from bookshops. https://www.tangentbooks.co.uk/shop/bristol-short-story-prize-anthology-volume-15