Congratulations to the authors of the 2025 Bristol Short Story Prize longlist! Now live on our website: bit.ly/4bNzJi5

EIGHT days until the deadline for our 2025 Award on 31st March. Have a story ready to resub? That didn’t make the Bristol Short Story Prize longlist perhaps? Tweak & give it another go. 2200 word limit. £1200 top prize. Bathshortstoryaward.org

Thank you to everyone who has signed the petition which now stands at 10,000+! If you haven't added your name, #DoTheWriteThing - change.org/p/protect-auth…

Thank you to everyone who has signed the petition which now stands at 40,000+! You can #DoTheWriteThing & stop #MetaBookThieves by adding your signature here ✒️authr.uk/sp40

Congratulations to Jane Healey on her new novel, Crescendo, which was pre-empted by Harvill and will reach bookshelves in spring 2026! We are elated for Jane, whose story 'Pool Boy' was shortlisted for the 2013 Bristol Short Story Prize.

Attention all: Only one more day until we announce this year's shortlist!

The 2025 Bristol Short Story Prize shortlist is now live: bit.ly/4k7rSio A huge thank you to our incredible judging panel: Jan Carson, Kate Johnson and Peace Medie for their time, commitment and enthusiasm. Congratulations to this year’s shortlisted authors!

Check out the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 17 cover design and learn more about the artist at bit.ly/4kNjC78

In a divided Berlin, the main character must face the dangers of embracing all aspects of their identity or forever feel incomplete. 📚 Catch Redfern’s story in our upcoming anthology and meet all our shortlisted writers: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

This compelling and visceral vignette gives us a glimpse into the life of a teenager trying to live and love as the world crumbles around them. 📚 Emma’s story will appear in our upcoming anthology along with the other shortlisted writers. Learn more: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

‘Memory Box’ paints a heart-wrenching portrait of life after earth and explores the beauty and sadness that comes with clinging to memories of things long lost. JR’s story features in our upcoming anthology. Learn more & meet all the shortlisted authors: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

‘Eggshell White’ brings us face to face with the oppressive darkness that lives beneath the walls, beneath the skin, beneath society’s façade. 📚 Catch robyn 👼's work in our upcoming anthology and meet all our shortlisted writers: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

Accidentally sharing a bed with a friend is one thing, but doing it with a coworker you hardly know... that's a disaster waiting to happen. Or is it? 📚 Check out Phoebe's laugh out loud story in our upcoming anthology and meet all 15 shortlisted writers: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

In this multi-POV story, we follow a mother and her daughter as they are forced to confront what it means to belong. 📚 Kerry’s heart-breaking story will feature in our new anthology. Learn more and meet all our shortlisted writers: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

What if you had to let go of the things you love, one at a time, until you had nothing left? Could you do it? What if you didn’t have a choice? 📚 Zoë Meager's story joins our next anthology. Learn more and meet all our shortlisted authors: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

Stuck. Trapped. Flattened. ‘The Weight of a Man’ is an exploration of family, love and the search to escape pressures outside our control. 📚 Read Laura Morris's story in our upcoming anthology. Learn more & meet all our shortlisted authors: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

‘How to Lose a Sister’ is a deeply emotional story about grief, learning to live with it and learning that life can still be beautiful. 📚 Read Issie’s story in our new anthology. Find out more and meet all our shortlisted writers: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

Fran seems destined to a life running the family business – Dikes’ Gas & Goods – until a late-night customer makes her question everything. 📚 Louis’s mysterious story features in our upcoming anthology. Learn more and meet all our shortlisted authors: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

It’s the morning of the Olympic 100m sprint, a historic day in the making, and yet life goes on. ‘1992’ immerses us in the daily lives of a family just doing their best. 📚 Look for S-L’s story in our 2025 anthology and meet all our shortlisted writers: bit.ly/4dZRhIB

In the aftermath of a devastating fire, rescue crews search for survivors, while a young girl searches for hope in the darkness. 📚 Jillian’s story joins our next anthology. Learn more and meet all our shortlisted authors: bit.ly/4dZRhIB