Enter the Bristol Short Story Prize

Bristol hot air balloons cr Judy DarleyGot a story shuffling about inside your head? The Bristol Short Story Prize 2023 is open for entries. The closing date is 26th April 2023. Submissions can be up to a maximum length of 4,000 words.

Twenty shortlisted stories will be selected for publications in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 16.

The writing competition prizes

  • First prize is £1,000
  • Second prize is £500
  • Third prize is £250.
  • Each of the 17 remaining shortlisted writers will receive £100.

An additional prize of £100, The Sansom Award, in recognition of the contribution to Bristol publishing of John and Angela Sansom, will be presented to the highest placed story by a Bristol writer.

Entry costs £9 for each submission, but there are 250 free online entries available to those for whom the entry fee is a barrier to submitting.

The 2023 Judging Panel comprises Abi Fellows, a literary agent at TGLA working across both fiction and non-fiction for children and adults, Heather Marks, a creative producer, editor, and writer and part of the immersive change agency Words of Colour, and Daniel Ross, the co-owner and co-founder of independent bookshop Storysmith.

The 2022 Bristol Short Story Prize was won by Diana Powell for her story A Cure For All Our Ills. Sufiyaan Salam won second prize and Johanna Spiers won third prize.

An interview with Diana, where she talks in-depth about her triumph and her writing, is available here.

The 2021 Bristol Short Story Prize was won by Isidora Cortes-Monroy for her story Cake for the Disappeared. Amanda Ong won second prize and Sarah Tinsley was awarded third prize.

The 2020 Bristol Short Story Prize was won by Florida-based writer Stephen Narain.

The 2019 Bristol Short Story Prize was won by Sydney-based writer Cameron Stewart for his story Black Snow.

The 2018 Bristol Short Story Prize was won by Dizz Tate  for her story, Cowboy Boot. 2nd prize went to Chloe Wilson. You can read an interview with Dizz about her win, here. Chloe Wilson has been signed by literary agent Kate Johnson of the New York-based MacKenzie Wolf Literary Agency.

For full details or to enter, go to www.bristolprize.co.uk.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? Send me an email at judydarley(at)iCloud(dot)com