We are thrilled to announce the 2023 Bristol Short Story Prize shortlist. These 20 stories and writers remain in the running for this year’s top prize.
Massive thanks to our judges: Abi Fellows, Dan Ross and Heather Marks for their commitment, vision and attentiveness in selecting the shortlist. Huge thanks, again, to our readers whose commitment is so vital to BSSP, and to all the writers who entered.
Congratulations to those who have been shortlisted; this is a great achievement. And thank you for giving us the opportunity to publish your work.
The winner of this year’s BSSP will be announced at an awards ceremony on October 14th when our 16th anthology featuring the 20 shortlisted stories will be published. The winner of the Sansom Award for Bristol writers will also be announced.
2023 Bristol Short Story Prize shortlist, A-Z by writer’s name:
Noor Us Sabah Tauqeer Ahsan – Death By Qorma
Jackie Bennett – Mr Silk Never Made It to the Library
Samyuktha Pritham Chakravarthy – Inhale and Exhale to Extract Apologies
Paul Bassett Davies – The Martyr’s Brother
Marie Gethins – Go and Get Your Straw Wherever You Can Find It
Emily Grabham – A Familiar Mammal of Her Own Making
Sam Hacking – When the Fields Emptied
Matt Hardcastle – Stood
Ed Hogan – War Work
Naledi Refilwe Mashishi – The Blanket
Okechi Okeke – My Father’s Return
Keza O’Neill – Lucky Strike
Simon Parkin – Oak & Bramble
Deepa Rajagopalan – Parasite
Sarah Rudston – The Photo
Abhishek Sengupta – Things to do on the Eve of Your Killing
Amy Stewart – Cold Blood
Joseph Tuck – God Is Gone from This World
Yann van Heurck – Compline
Andrea Watts – Looking for a Way Out
