The shortlist for the sixth BBC National Short Story Award was announced on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Friday 9 September. From the hard shoulder of the motorway, to an operating theatre, to the forests of Alberta, the five shortlisted stories are drawn from the extremes of human experience; they explore the complex workings of the human heart – in every sense – and the moments and events that can alter the course of a relationship forever.
This year’s shortlist is:
Rag Love by M J Hyland
The Heart of Denis Noble by Alison MacLeod
Wires by Jon McGregor
The Human Circadian Pacemaker by K J Orr
The Dead Roads by D W Wilson
Five of the UK’s top actors and actresses – including Tim Pigott-Smith and Indira Varma – will each read one of the shortlisted stories, to be broadcast daily on BBC Radio 4 at 3.30pm from Monday 12 September. Each story will become available on the day of broadcast as a free podcast available to download for seven days from the BBC website. Then it will be available as a commercial audiobook via AudioGo.
The BBC National Short Story Award 2011 Anthology, published by Comma Press, is available at all good bookshops and at the Comma Press website from Monday, as well as in Kindle format. This year is the first time the shortlist will be available in five formats, reflecting the flexibility of the short story.
Sue MacGregor, chair of Judges said: “So at last the dozens of stories we judges have pondered and discussed are down to a final five. Eventually a winner will emerge, but meanwhile we can savour this selection, and the craftsmanship which produced them. Two of them are gripping tales of suspense, one may change your mind about luxury ocean liners, and two ponder great scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century – proving that on a relatively small canvas a true artist can paint a perfect little picture.”
The Award, which is now in its sixth year, celebrates the best in contemporary short story writing and is one of the most important for a single short story. The author of the winning story will be awarded £15,000, with the runner up receiving £3,000 and a further three authors receiving £500 each.
The announcement of the Award winner and runner-up will be broadcast live from the Award ceremony on Radio 4’s Front Row programme at 7.15pm on Monday 26 September. The five stories will also be published in a special anthology and be available for free audio download for a limited time.
For more information about short stories go to www.theshortstory.org.uk
