Congratulations to everyone who reached the long list of this year’s award and a big thank you to all the writers who entered from around the globe. We received 1439 entries this year – stories from 45 different countries, covering most of the letters of the alphabet!
We appreciated all the wonderful story telling in this far-ranging cultural mix – traditionally structured stories, experimental ones, poetic pieces, unusual points of view and many stories with interesting settings. Coming-of-age themes featured strongly, as did stories about current world issues, including conflict and loss in all its forms.
In our reading team we have thirteen people of different ages, all experienced writers who are passionate about the short story form. It was challenging to choose the final selection from some strong contenders and at 64 stories, the list is longer than usual.
| 2016 Bath Short Story Award Longlist | |
|---|---|
| Story Title | Author |
| A Balcony of Birds | Keeley Mansfield |
| A Different Self | 0livia Kiernan |
| A hesitating heart feels the touch of a gentleman | Charlotte Seymour |
| A Marriage of Convenience | Kathy Stevens |
| Almost Home | Barry McKinley |
| An Excellent Panoply | Ann Rowlands |
| Ash | Miranda Luby |
| Avocet | Clare Reddaway |
| Being Here | Jude Cook |
| Blessing | Bunmi Ogunsiji |
| Boom! Sorted | Anne Heath |
| Braces | Nick Werber |
| But Beautiful | Sophie Wellstood |
| Cake | Marilyn Messenger |
| Comfort | Cherise Saywell |
| Curators | Philippa Found |
| Cut | Kelly Hallam |
| Dancing Turtle | Thomas Atkinson |
| Dandelion and Roses | Christina Sanders |
| Dragonflies | Barney Walsh |
| Eva’s Eden | Katy Wimhurst |
| Feather Your Nest | Anne O’Brien |
| Fish Fingers | Amy J. Kiirkwood |
| Forbidden Fruit | Janis Lane |
| Generally Accepted Accounting Practice | Anne Kilminster |
| Gull | Harriet Kline |
| Hedgehopping | Mark Johnson |
| Here Come The Empties | Pauline Rooney |
| Honeycomb City | Katie Hall-May |
| House of Flowers | Josie Turner |
| I Dare You | Eileen Merriman |
| Light like you | Sara Collins |
| Little red jacket | Jenny Morris |
| Lolly | Edna Axelrod |
| Loved Locked | Emma Murray |
| Me and Malachi | Rachel Huxley |
| Mr Artist | Kate Jefford |
| Mrs. Li | William Pei Shih |
| Nighthawks | Molia Dumbleton |
| Paradoxes of Zeno | John Langan |
| Say you | Sara Collins |
| Searching for Silver Darlings | Jacky Taylor |
| Smoke | Alys Conran |
| Statement | Vanessa Brooks |
| Still Roaring | Wendy Stedman |
| Stop all the Clocks | Emma Staughton |
| Sundown | Tom Bryan |
| The Azalea Tree | Fflur Dafydd |
| The Bridge | Jennifer Harvey |
| The Death of Garcia Gabriel Marquez | Jude Box |
| The Earth on the Way Down | Margaret Dolley |
| The Edges of Sound | Teresa Stenson |
| The Green Heart | Dave Swann |
| The Last Toast Cafe | Becca Langton |
| The Mountain | Mark Pederson |
| The Nor’wester | Zoe Owens |
| The Purple File | Kerry Hood |
| The Right Thing to Do | Peter Burns |
| The Tiny Lies | Mandy Huggins |
| Though the Waves Toss | Rhiannon Bull |
| Tribal Marks | Marie Gethins |
| We Were Curious About Boys | Ingrid Jendzrejewski |
| White Flags | Rupert Dastur |
| Who said the river was red | Alison Powell |