It's been some year. Deciding which stories should make it has been a long, painful process. If you aren't on our lists, don't despair. There were many, many fine stories that almost made it. And it was a blast reading them. We had over seven hundred submissions this year, with stories covering everything from marital disfunction to shape-shifting to drug-addled road trips. We saw fantasy, sci-fi, heartbreaking realism, absurd comedy, furious politics...

Like last year, the number of stories told in second person was surprising. Perhaps less surprisingly, there was a marked increase in End Time narratives and post-apocalyptic settings. Refugees made appearances. So did diasporas.

From noisy, big-band stories - rich in drama, uproar, or twisted imaginings - to quieter pieces, the overall quality of work was again exceptional. All of the stories were read with keen interest. Getting the number down even to 200 was hard. And after that, to 80, and then 45, then 20, on to the final 13... As one of our judges commented, it was a reminder of just how simultaneously inspiring and miserable judging and the selection process can be...

Pain

One of the agonies was that there were many stories bursting with talent that didn't make it through thanks to issues with editorial - things such as overly-long endings, or one aspect or another that wasn't quite gelling... We have to judge the stories as finished works - and what this has meant is that some remarkable writing has fallen by the way side. (But we will be emailing a few of you soon to have further discussions and maybe run stories in our Singles Club, so all is not lost...)

Joy!

But that's enough pain. What about our final thirteen? They take in strange supermarkets, ominus parcels, school plays, internet trolls, love, loss, hate, fear, animals, children. Some showcase straight, high quality, storytelling. Some are radical and unusual. All of them are excellent.

The bit about us

Also, on another happy note, this prize is a big part of our publishing year.  First and foremost, because it's invigorating: Reading the stories is wonderful. We find many new - and varied - writers through the prize, some of whom we've gone on to work with. One of the novels we're releasing this year comes from a one of last year's longlisted writers, and we have a long-term project we're hoping to realise with another. Others will be published before too long in our Singles Club.

It's also a great way to showcase some new talent - and help writers get noticed. We got a lot of interest from agents and editors last year - and were really pleased to help writers get representation. We're hoping the coverage by the Bookseller of the winning author this year should only further help with this...

And, of course, the prize matters to us financially. Of the 750 submission entries, a healthy amount of the fees go towards admin, various design costs and paying the judges (except Sam and Elly, who don't get paid!). The rest is dedicated solely towards publication costs of the kind of authors we support: those with huge talent and literary ambition, who might not otherwise (in an environment with huge commercial pressures) see themselves published. So by submitting to the prize, you are supporting your fellow authors - and us. THANK YOU. 

And extra gratitude and kudos to the following talents. First, we are proud to present our longlist, in alphabetical order, by author surname:

Gordon Collins, War In A Babylon

Hilary Dean, Resurrection

Amber Higgins, Little Moon

Paul Jones, Patterdale

Fiona J. Mackintosh, Interstate

Malachi McIntosh, Limbs

Linda McVeigh, Back Seat

Yelena Moskovich, Marlene or Number 16

Tom Perrin, Gnomechomsky

Henrietta Rose-Innes, The Second Law

Richard Smyth, Something Was Being Broken

T. Schroeder, And Our Land And Will Yield Its Harvest

Joanna Walsh, Hasard Objectif

 

And special mentions also go to:

Ghillie's Mum – Lynda Clark

No Thief - Carol Farrelly

Coffee And Jazz – Neil Griffiths

Happiness – Kit Maude

Sweatshop – Alexandra Mendelsohn

Scrubber - Valerie O’Riordan

The Furnace Throne - Friðrik Sólnes Jónsson

Dead Yard – Maria Thomas

Don't Ever Bring Me Fish - Clare Weze

 

We're so pleased!