As ever, we've had an absolutely fantastic response for this competition. With thousands of stories of an extremely high standard, our judge has had her work cut out trying to narrow down so many great entries. Thank you to everyone who submitted their work!
However, tough as they were, decisions have had to be made.
The shortlist of writers whose stories are being considered for a cash prize of £500 and a place at an Arvon writing course are as follows:
Untitled by Simon Pearson
Poppy Jones and the Ding Dong Song by John Clarke
The Joy of Confession by Daniel Packer
When Joysticks Become Control Columns by Mike Martin
My Name is Marcus Harvey by Frances Hurd
The Joy Chair by Michael J. Fleming
Ramblings by Klinte Mie Jepsen
Antelope by Fiona Mitchell
Ode to Joy by Richard Newton
Speeding by Dorit Kedar
Moss Coloured Memories by Jenny Harding-Rolls
What’s in a Name? by Rachel Vickery
Joy story by Matthew Mundy
Sing for Joy by Margaret Abbett
Other Shoes by Jonathan Skinner
Joy by Dick Johns
Schadenfreude by Louis Patel
Joy by Loraine Saacks
Probearbeiten by Melissa Schmidt
Killjoy by Thomas Giles
The winner and two runners-up will be announced here in just over a week - on Monday 30th March. Lucy Wood, acclaimed short story writer and author of Diving Belles, is currently hard at work deciding who the three winners will be. Good luck to everyone on the shortlist and again, thank you for such a positive response. It's a privilege for us to read the work of so many keen writers.
Congratulations to all those on the shortlist.
You are all winners to have made the shortlist.
Thank you so much for including my entry on your shortlist - I'm very grateful for this amazing experience.
CongratuIations to all the writers on this year's short story competition shortlist, I wish you all the best of luck!
Well done to everyone who was shortlisted. It will be interesting to read the top three when they are announced.