The Minutes by Nell Stevens

Nell Stevens' shortlisted story in which art and activism come together and things aren’t quite what they seem.

Read by Tuppence Middleton.

The kindness of strangers and the meaning of home were key themes in the five shortlisted entries for the 2018 BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University.

The 2018 shortlist was 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 from Brexit, immigration to urban gentrification, draw out ideas of 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.

Abridged by Rowan Routh

Producer: Simon Richardson