Submissions open for BBC National Short Story Award and BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ��

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 12:14:44 +0000

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

̽��ֱ��2020 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Sarah Hall for ‘ ̽��ֱ��Grotesques’, 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.

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

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

Dr Lisa Mullen from the ̽��ֱ��’s Faculty of English and Director of Studies at Downing College said: “ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� 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.

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

̽��ֱ��BBC National Short Story Award and BBC Young Writers’ 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: “I 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.

“They 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’ll be looking for is uniqueness of vision, a distinctive tone, curiosity, intrigue, surprise: an invitation to the reader’s imagination. I can’t wait to get started.”

Chair of the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� 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’s Life Hacks and ̽��ֱ��Official Chart: First Look on Radio 1. ̽��ֱ��BBC Young Writers’ Award is open to writers between the ages of 14-18 years.

Thistleton said: “I’m really looking forward to chairing the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� 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.”

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’ Award, Thistleton will be joined by bestselling, highly acclaimed Irish YA author, Louise O’Neill; twenty-year old singer-songwriter Arlo Parks; Sunday Times bestselling author and actor Robert Webb; and Guardian Children’s Fiction Award winner Alex Wheatle.

Full Terms and Conditions for the NSSA and YWA are available with submissions accepted online at www.bbc.co.uk/nssa and www.bbc.co.uk/ywa. The deadline for receipt of entries for the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� is 9am (GMT) Monday 15th March 2021. The deadline for receipt of entries for the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� is 9am (GMT) Monday 22nd March 2021.

̽��ֱ��shortlist for the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� will be announced on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row at 7.15pm on Friday 10th September 2021. ̽��ֱ��shortlist for the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� will be announced on Radio 1’s Life Hacks from 4pm on Sunday 19th September 2021.

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

̽��ֱ��announcement of the winners of the two awards will be broadcast live from the award ceremony at BBC Broadcasting House on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row from 7.15pm on Tuesday 5th October 2021.

Novelist James Runcie and broadcaster Katie Thistleton will chair the judging panels for the 2021 BBC National Short Story Award and BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ��, 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 ̽��ֱ�� Library and Fitzwilliam Museum all have a special interest in how this dynamic form of fiction responds to a changing world

Dr Lucy Mullen

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Lucy Mullen

Submissions open for BBC National Short Story Award and BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge ̽��ֱ��