Huge congratulations to all the winning writers in our 2023 Award, which received c.1000 entries from around the world. You can read our judge Farhana Shaikh’s comments in general and on their brilliant short stories in her report and the stories will be published in our 2023 anthology in November this year. The BSSA team has also selected and commented on the winner of the Acorn Award for an unpublished writer.

First Prize, ‘The Language of Remembering´ by Patrick Holloway. Patrick is a prizewinning writer of stories and poems. His work has appeared in The Stinging Fly, The London Magazine, Carve, Southword, The Moth, among many others. He is an editor of the literary journal, The Four Faced Liar. He has just finished a novel that originated from the short story in this anthology and is busy tidying it up before sending it back to his agent.

Second Prize, ‘Manifesto’ by Nathan Bailey. Nathan is a musician, barman, and student. He is currently studying for an MFA in creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. He began writing short stories in 2021. This is his first work in print. He lives in Burnage, Greater Manchester.

Third Prize, ‘He’ll Take Good Care of Her’ by Sudha Balagopal.
Sudha’s fiction straddles continents and cultures to explore the human condition. Herhighly commended novella in flash, Things I Can Tell Amma, was published by Ad Hoc Fiction in 2021. She is the author of a novel, A New Dawn, and two short story collections. Her short pieces have appeared in literary journals worldwide. Recently, her short fiction won the CRAFT Amelia Gray 2K contest and her work was selected for Best Small Fictions 2023. When she’snot writing, she teaches yoga. Continue reading →

Congratulations to all the shortlisted writers (arranged here in alphabetical order). We’re thrilled to be publishing their wonderful stories in our 2023 BSSA anthology. Publication expected in November 2023. Read our judge Farhana Shaikh’s general comments about all the stories she read. Continue reading →