BBC National Short Story Award 2015 #seanocarolan.com #writing #contest #bbc

The BBC National Short Story Award with Booktrust has launched for the 10th year.



The Award aims to promote the best in contemporary British short fiction and has celebrated both established writers and new stars over the last decade.



It offers an award of £15,000 to the winner, £3,000 for the runner-up and £500 for three further shortlisted writers. In September 2015, listeners can hear the five shortlisted stories read on BBC Radio 4 and readers can discover the stories in the Award anthology published by Comma Press.



The 2015 Award is open to UK residents or nationals, aged 18 or over, who have a history of publication in creative writing. The deadline for receipt of entries is 5pm (GMT), Wednesday 25 February 2015. See the Award terms & conditions and entry form for more information.



Claire Shanahan, Head of Arts at Booktrust, said:


The first nine years of the BBC National Short Story Award has showcased work by an exciting range of both established short story specialists such as William Trevor and Sarah Hall, novelists including Lionel Shriver and Zadie Smith and relative newcomers including Lucy Wood and Francesca Rhydderch. We hope that this special 10th anniversary will attract the highest-quality and most innovative stories from writers, publishers and agents and are excited to uncover the 2015 shortlist and winner.

To celebrate the Award's 10th anniversary, the BBC and Booktrust will select 10 schools from across the UK to shadow judge the BBC National Short Story Award 2015 with Booktrust. At least 200 pupils aged 16-18 will read the five shortlisted stories and vote for their favourite. More details will be announced in the spring.



The BBC and Booktrust are also expanding their partnership to launch the brand new BBC Young Writers' Award with Booktrust.



Key dates (subject to change):


The shortlist will be announced on BBC Radio 4's 'Front Row' at 7.15pm on Wednesday 16 September 2015.
Interviews with each of the shortlisted writers will be broadcast over five weekdays on BBC Radio 4's Front Row at 7.15pm from Friday 18 to Thursday 24 September 2015. Each writer's story will be then be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 3.30 pm on the following working day, from Monday 21 to Friday 25 September 2015.
The announcement of the BBC National Short Story Award 2015 with Booktrust winner and runner-up, as well as the shadow winner and the Young Writers' Award winner will be broadcast live from the Award ceremony on BBC Radio 4's Front Row from 7.15pm on Tuesday 6 October 2015.



Follow @Booktrust and #BBCNSSA on Twitter for updates on the Award.

About the BBC National Short Story Award 2015
About the prize
Entry guidelines

Celebrating the power of the short story

The BBC National Short Story Award in partnership with Booktrust is now in its tenth year. It is one of the most prestigious Awards for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000, the runner-up £3,000 and three further shortlisted authors £500 each.



The Award continues to serve as a reminder of the power of the short story and to celebrate a literary form that is proving ever more versatile in the 21st century. It can now be enjoyed not just on the page, on air and increasingly on every sort of screen as well as in flash fiction events, short story festivals and slams. The ambition of both the Award and Booktrust's short story content is to expand opportunities for British writers, readers and publishers of the short story. BBC Radio 4 is the world's biggest single commissioner of short stories with short stories broadcast every week attracting more than a million listeners.



For updates on the Award follow #bbcnssa and @Booktrust on Twitter.



Previous winners

2014 Lionel Shriver 'Kilifi Creek'; runner-up Zadie Smith 'Miss Adele Amidst the Corsets'

2013 Sarah Hall 'Mrs Fox'; runner-up Lucy Wood 'Notes from the House Spirits'

2012 Miroslav Penkov 'East of the West'; runner-up Henrietta Rose-Innes 'Sanctuary'

2011 D W Wilson 'The Dead Roads'; runner-up Jon McGregor 'Wires'

2010 David Constantine 'Tea at the Midland'; runner-up Jon McGregor 'If It Keeps On Raining'

2009 Kate Clanchy 'The Not-Dead and the Saved'; runner-up Sara Maitland 'Moss Witch

2008 Clare Wigfall 'The Numbers'; runner-up Jane Gardam 'The People on Privilege Hill'

2007 Julian Gough 'The Orphan and the Mob'; runner-up David Almond 'Slog's Dad'

2006 James Lasdun 'An Anxious Man'; runner-up Michel Faber 'The Safehouse'