Background

In 2005, the National Short Story Prize was launched at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to re-establish the importance of the British story after many years of neglect. Funded by NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) and supported by BBC Radio 4 and Prospect magazine, the prize (£15,000 to the winner) became the largest award in the world for a single short story.

The first winner, announced in 2006, was James Lasdun for his story An Anxious Man.

In 2007, Julian Gough won the prize for his story The Orphan and the Mob.

For 2008, the prize has been renamed the BBC National Short Story Award to reflect the fact that the BBC is now the sponsor. The deadline for entries to the 2008 award has now passed.

Find out more

2007 National Short Story Prize

Julian Gough won the 2007 National Short Story Prize, with David Almond named as runner-up.

Gough received £15,000 – the largest award in the world for a single short story – for 'The Orphan and the Mob' and David Almond £3,000 for 'Slog’s Dad'.

The three remaining authors on the shortlist – Jonathan Falla, Jackie Kay and Hanif Kureishi – each received £500.

Winner 2007 press release (Microsoft Word .doc format 46Kb)

The winner was announced on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on 23 April 2007.

The judges for the 2007 prize were Mark Lawson (Chair), Monica Ali, AS Byatt, Di Speirs and Alex Linklater.

The shortlisted authors and stories were announced on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on 13 April 2007

2007 shortlist

'Slog's Dad' by David Almond
'The Morena' by Jonathan Falla
'The Orphan and the Mob' by Julian Gough
'How to Get Away with Suicide' by Jackie Kay
'Weddings and Beheadings' by Hanif Kureishi

Shortlist 2007 press release (Microsoft Word .doc format 47Kb)

Read what three of the shortlisted authors think about short stories:

> Jackie Kay

> Julian Gough

> Jonathan Falla

The inclusion on the shortlist of Hanif Kureishi's story, 'Weddings and Beheadings' has aroused some controversy. Mark Lawson, Chair of judges, issued this statement:

"The judges regarded Hanif Kureishi's story as a serious treatment of a new and horrific phenomenon. Some people will feel that sensitive and controversial material should never be the subject for fiction; we felt that the question to be asked is whether the writer is simply operating shock tactics or using fiction to explore events which are to most people unimaginable. For us, the story does the latter and deserved its place on a shortlist of five.

"We did not believe that Kureishi intended any recognisable reference to any single actual incident in the Middle East, or that one can be read into the story. It's perhaps also important to say that the story was written, first published and initially judged before the disappearance of Alan Johnston."

Nevertheless, BBC Radio 4 has chosen not to broadcast Hanif Kureishi's story as a courtesy to the journalist's family.

> Read Mark Lawson on sentimental censorship in the Guardian

2006 National Short Story Prize

James Lasdun won the 2006 National Short Story Prize for his short story An Anxious Man.

Read all the stories shortlisted for the 2006 prize

Read an interview with James Lasdun

The winner was announced on 15 May 2006
Press release (Microsoft Word .doc format 41Kb)

The shortlisted authors and stories were announced on 3 April 2006
Press release (Microsoft Word .doc format 41Kb)
Author biographies and story précis (Microsoft Word .doc format 31Kb)

The prize was announced on 23 August 2005
Press release (Microsoft Word .doc format 44Kb)
Press release (Adobe Acrobat .pdf format 130Kb)

read an article by Di Speirs (Executive Producer Readings BBC Radio 4) about BBC Radio and its work with the short story