Novelist James听Runcie听and broadcaster Katie听Thistleton听will chair the judging panels for听the 2021 and with Cambridge 探花直播, and submissions are now open.

Stories are at the heart of our shared human experience, and Cambridge's Faculty of English, Institute of Continuing Education, the 探花直播 Library and Fitzwilliam Museum all have a special interest in how this dynamic form of fiction responds to a changing world

Dr Lucy Mullen

探花直播BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving 拢15,000, and four further shortlisted authors 拢600 each. 探花直播stories will be broadcast on Radio 4 and published in an anthology by Comma Press.

探花直播2020 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Sarah Hall for 鈥樷, a timeless and unsettling story set against a backdrop of privilege and inequality in a university town. This was the second win for Hall who also won the prize in 2013. Previous alumni of the award include Lionel Shriver, Zadie Smith, Hilary Mantel, Jon McGregor, Ingrid Persaud, Cynan Jones and Jo Lloyd.

探花直播writers shortlisted for the BBC Young Writers鈥 Award have their stories narrated by an actor, recorded for a BBC podcast, and published in an anthology. 探花直播winner of the 2020 BBC Young Writers鈥 Award was Lottie Mills for her story inspired by her experience of disability, 鈥.鈥 Both winning stories are available to listen to on .

This is the first year of a new three-year partnership with the 探花直播 of Cambridge, including Cambridge 探花直播 Library, the Faculty of English, Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education and for the first time, the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Dr Lisa Mullen from the 探花直播鈥檚 Faculty of English and Director of Studies at Downing College said: 鈥 探花直播 探花直播 of Cambridge is delighted to be collaborating with the BBC again on these awards, and to support and nurture both new and established short-story writers.

鈥淪tories are at the heart of our shared human experience, and Cambridge's Faculty of English, Institute of Continuing Education, the 探花直播 Library and Fitzwilliam Museum all have a special interest in how this dynamic form of fiction responds to a changing world.鈥

探花直播BBC National Short Story Award and BBC Young Writers鈥 Award are now open for submissions. Novelist and former Radio 4 Commissioning Editor for Arts James Runcie will chair the judging panel for the BBC National Short Story Award, an award that has enriched both the careers of writers and the wider literary landscape since its launch sixteen years ago.

Runcie said: 鈥淚 am so delighted to chair the 2021 BBC National Short Story Awards. We need imaginative alternatives in these dark times: stories that question and surprise and open up new worlds.

鈥淭hey can be short or long. They can take place in the past, present, future, or even all three at once. They can be set in a nutshell or in infinite space. But what I think we鈥檒l be looking for is uniqueness of vision, a distinctive tone, curiosity, intrigue, surprise: an invitation to the reader鈥檚 imagination. I can鈥檛 wait to get started.鈥

Chair of the BBC Young Writers鈥 Award with Cambridge 探花直播 is BBC Radio 1 Presenter Katie Thistleton. She chairs the judging panel for the teenage award for the fourth time as it opens for submissions for the seventh year. Thistleton is a writer and the co-host of Radio 1鈥檚 Life Hacks and 探花直播Official Chart: First Look on Radio 1. 探花直播BBC Young Writers鈥 Award is open to writers between the ages of 14-18 years.

Thistleton said: 鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to chairing the BBC Young Writers鈥 Award with Cambridge 探花直播 again for 2021. As a keen writer myself, and someone who loved entering writing competitions when I was younger, I know how important and exciting this opportunity is.鈥

Runcie and Thistleton will be joined by a group of acclaimed writers and critics on their respective panels.

For the BBC National Short Story Award: Booker Prize shortlisted novelist Fiona Mozley; award winning writer, poet and winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize, Derek Owusu; multi-award winning Irish novelist and short story writer, Donal Ryan; and returning judge, Di Speirs, Books Editor at BBC Radio.

For the BBC Young Writers鈥 Award, Thistleton will be joined by bestselling, highly acclaimed Irish YA author, Louise O鈥橬eill; twenty-year old singer-songwriter Arlo Parks; Sunday Times bestselling author and actor Robert Webb; and Guardian Children鈥檚 Fiction Award winner Alex Wheatle.

Full Terms and Conditions for the NSSA and YWA are available with submissions accepted online at and . The听deadline for receipt of entries for the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge 探花直播 is听9am (GMT) Monday 15th March 2021. The听deadline for receipt of entries for the BBC Young Writers鈥 Award with Cambridge 探花直播 is听9am (GMT) Monday 22nd March 2021.听

探花直播shortlist for the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge 探花直播 will be announced on BBC Radio 4鈥檚 Front Row听at听7.15pm on Friday 10th September 2021. 探花直播shortlist for the BBC Young Writers鈥 Award with Cambridge 探花直播 will be announced on Radio 1鈥檚 Life Hacks from听4pm on Sunday 19th September 2021.

探花直播stories shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge 探花直播 will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from Monday 13th to Friday 17th September 2021 from 3.30pm to 4pm.

探花直播announcement of the听winners of the two awards will be broadcast live from the award ceremony at BBC Broadcasting House on BBC Radio 4鈥檚听Front Row听from 7.15pm on听Tuesday 5th October 2021.


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