Tag: The RW Flash Fiction Prize

2016 Short Story and Flash Fiction Prize Longlists

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Many thanks to everyone that entered the inaugural RW Short Story Prize and RW Flash Fiction Prize.

There were some really great entries but sadly also quite a number of stories that had to be disqualified as the writer put their name on the entry where we could see it. Please read the instructions properly and only put your name on the covering letter not on the story document or the submission title! We cannot allow stories in that are not read anonymously.

Readings are done anonymously until the shortlists are chosen so only the story titles are listed here.

Longlist RW Short Story Prize

  • By the Light of the Moon
  • By the River Under the Banyan Tree
  • Farne Islands
  • Honeysuckle Happiness Hospice
  • On Crosby Beach
  • Leicester, 1974
  • Lobsterfest
  • Misky Bee Free
  • Pandora’s Box
  • Robin (The Handle of a Child’s Bucket)
  • Rocking Bird
  • Stop-Gap Woman
  • Ten Things I Can Tell You About Abraham Lincoln
  • The Bear in the Cellar
  • The Birth of Venus
  • The Cottage on the Hill
  • The Night Picnic
  • The Poet
  • What Was Left
  • Black Dog

Longlist RW Flash Fiction Prize

  • Air
  • Daisy 8122
  • Doolally Tap
  • Eggshells
  • Food of Love
  • Front Cover Down
  • Giddy With It
  • Gifted
  • Gordon Bennett
  • In the Hospital
  • Keep Calm and Carry On
  • Kirianna
  • Last Concerto
  • Last of the First Season
  • Sacred Streams
  • Saturday Nights

Congratulations and good luck to all the writers whose stories are listed here.

We will be re-reading and announcing the shortlists in January 2017. The 10 shortlisted stories in each category will then go to the judges to read and the winners announced in February 2017. Vanessa Gebbie is judging the short story category and David Gaffney the flashes.

Prizes and anthologies, which are being published by Urbane Publications, will be presented to everyone on the shortlists at an event in the summer. Details of this will be available in the new year.

Once the winners have been announced for the 2016 Prizes details of the deadlines and judges for the 2017 Prizes will go live.

 

Urbane and the Winners

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You may have noticed that I’ve been very excited about Urbane Publications since signing with them. And it’s not just because they’re publishing my book! I’ve read several of the novels that have been published by them so far, some of which you can find out more about in the Year of Indie Debuts blog series, and it’s great to discover so many new and diverse voices.

That Urbane genuinely want to collaborate with authors, combined with Matthew’s never ending enthusiasm and decades of experience in the publishing industry, made me want to partner with him for the new annual story prizes, which I’m hoping to establish as an important competition on the annual circuit that gives writers good cash prizes (these will grow as the number of entries do) and also gets them published professionally.

So these are the reasons why I chose to partner with Urbane for the publication of the annual anthologies that will come out of the competition. But it’s not just about me so I asked Matthew why he chose to get involved as well…

Matthew, why did you choose to partner with Retreat West to publish the anthology of winning stories in the RW Short Story Prize and RW Flash Fiction Prize?

Well, many reasons but mainly because Retreat West is rapidly becoming one of the leading resources for new and experienced writers, providing support, information and advice to a growing community of authors. Partnering with you offers Urbane a unique opportunity to engage with this vibrant and energetic community of writing talent.

What excites you about collaborating on the winners anthology?

Urbane is driven by positive collaboration, so to have this opportunity to work in partnership with the most talented authors in flash and short story fiction is wonderful. There’s nothing better than to be part of the creative writing process. And a competition also means that authors that might not have heard of Urbane will find us, and likewise I’ll find authors that I might not have come across otherwise.

What can the authors included in the anthology can expect from being published through your innovative press?

The winning authors will not only be ‘traditionally’ published in a high quality volume, but they will all be involved in the development of that book. Urbane brings every author to the heart of the publication process – it will be a team effort!

What does the market for short story anthologies look like now that the short form has undergone a resurgence and is very popular again?

Interestingly, anthologies seem to fare better commercially than single author collections, particularly in bookshops. Though we are yet to see the excitement and popularity of flash and short story fiction on digital channels truly translate to print copy success. This will be the catalyst!

 

Thanks for coming along, Matthew. I’m really excited about this too!

If you’d like to appear in the anthology and get your work read by leading writers, Vanessa Gebbie and David Gaffney, then you have until 30th September 2016 to enter the competitions. We all look forward to reading your work!

 

Get more info on how to enter the RW Short Story Prize and how to enter the RW Flash Fiction Prize.