The Bath Short Story Award 2014 OPENS 1st November 2013
The winners of The Bath Short Story Award 2013 will be announced at 10:00 BST 08 June 2013. Thank you to everyone who entered. We received 1,149 stories.
Shortlist judges: Cornerstones Literary Consultancy http://cornerstones.co.uk
The Bath Short Story Award 2013 prizes: 1st Prize £500 / 2nd Prize £100 / 3rd Prize £50 / Extra Local Prize £50. The writers of six short stories selected by our publisher will also have the opportunity to be published in international e-anthology
The Bath Short Story Award 2013 Shortlist:
Anna
Babby’s Lament
Badly Drawn Star
Crossing
Flight*
Fragments Left Behind
Hunting for Crabs
Learning to Fly
The Ogre
The Woman in the Cupboard
*Two stories entitled Flight were longlisted. The shortlisted story’s opening words are “Fly or die”
The Bath Short Story Award is judged anonymously. The names of all short/longlistees will be added when the winners are announced on 08 June 2013
The Bath Short Story Award 2013 Longlist:
| A Cake for the Gestapo |
| After the Rhododendrons |
| Anna |
| Babby’s Lament |
| Badly Drawn Star |
| Bootsie Wootsies |
| Crossing |
| DNA Shopping |
| Eddie’s Marble |
| Fiery Mortals |
| Fizzy Laces and the Cockerel Man |
| Flight |
| Flight* |
| Fragments Left Behind |
| Gate 2 |
| Hitler was an Artist Too |
| Honest John |
| Hunting for Crabs |
| I See No Shops |
| Karla Barrow |
| Learning to Fly |
| Lord Profitt and The Roars |
| Ratting 1919 |
| Red Earth, Cyrenaica |
| Rock-a-bye Baby |
| Stars |
| The Ancient Art of Butter Making |
| The Ballad of Puddle Dock |
| The Black Bull in Paradise |
| The Burning of Last Year’s Grass |
| The Carpenter, the Climber and the Refuse Collector |
| The Crossing |
| The Dog who was Broken in Two |
| The Lizzie |
| The Man on the Platform |
| The Ogre |
| The Pig |
| The Sand Men and the Tables |
| The Woman in the Cupboard |
| Thursday Night at The Star and Anchor |
| Twelve Steps and a Lightbulb Moment |
| Two Carrots |
| We’re Not at Home |
| When You Wish Upon a Star |
| Whisky |
| Woman in a Chair |
*Two stories titled Flight are longlisted. All other titles were the only entries with that name
The Bath Short Story Award is judged anonymously. Entrants’ names will be added after 08 June 2013
The longlist judges made the following comments:
“Stories ranged widely in subject matter and gave the perspective of writers from different countries and cultures. There were themes of war, past and present; the struggles in relationships; coming of age; children’s points of view on bereavement; murder; revenge; dementia; neglect; types of abuse and the curious things people do. Several stories were set in a dystopian future. Some took ordinary day-to-day situations and made a small incident compelling. Others described a whole life span or a situation that developed over years. Contemporary political and social themes were common and genres included Gothic, crime, horror, historical and science fiction.
Many stories were very well-written and had a lasting impact. The ones that didn’t make the list were not without merit. Hundreds of entries were ‘almost there’and with feedback from a good workshop group or ruthless pruning could do well in the future. After careful sifting, we agreed the ones that fulfilled the criteria for the longlist were both cleverly crafted and with a great plot that engaged from the beginning, gripped the reader throughout and had a compelling ending.
Several of the award-winning writers interviewed on The Bath Short Story Award’s website suggested the best stories linger longer after they are read, like a good meal. The longlisted stories satisfied in many ways – from their title to their emotional resonance, using wit or inventive prose. These were the stories that sang to us.”
The Bath Short Story Award 2013 is sponsored by Cornerstones Literary Consultancy http://cornerstones.co.uk and Writing Events Bath http://writingeventsbath.co.uk
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