BBC National Short Story Award 2018

The kindness of strangers and the meaning of home are key themes in the five shortlisted entries for this year’s BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University, now celebrating its 13th year.

This year’s shortlist is unified by the individual power of each writer to convey both the private and the universal experience; linking the personal and the political. The stories, often inspired by world events: Brexit, immigration and urban gentrification, draw out community and human connection. Each story is a powerful meditation on a world where displacement and loss seem to be overwhelming but where renewal and hope are infinite.

Hear the five stories in contention for this major BBC award for a single short story each afternoon on BBC Radio 4 at 3.30pm from Monday 17 – Friday 21 September. On the evening before the broadcast the writer of each shortlisted entry will be interviewed on Front Row.

To find out who will win this year’s award listen to the award ceremony which will be broadcast live from Cambridge University on Tuesday 2 October live on Front Row. This year’s shortlist will be available as a podcast, to find out more go to the Radio 4 website.

Publicity contact: SH2