K L Jefford

Thank-you. This story is very important to me and I’m overwhelmed that it won first prize in this wonderful competition, and proud to be in such talented company in the anthology.
In Bed With My Sister is a fictional narrative that was seeded in scrawled notes I made at a time when someone close to me was in crisis. I’ve always been curious about the roles we take up in families and other relationships – who looks after who – and the tensions between personal and professional, especially what happens when those in the so-called ‘caring professions’ become patients.
Returning to these notes months later, I began to imagine and sketch out ‘scenes’ which formed the basis of the narrative. I always take drafts of stories to my writing workshops – I’m part of two with writers I met on the MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck – and use their feedback to inform the editing process. The story struck a chord in the workshops immediately, described as both ‘painful’ and ‘compelling’. Editing involved much re-shaping and tweaking, improving specificity of detail, pruning back prose to facilitate emotional impact, and paying attention to the balance of humour and darkness. Time management and chronology have always been big challenges for me and much of my editing involves chopping up and moving scenes around.
I worked on the story – alongside other stories-in-progress – for around a year before considering it ready to submit to competitions.
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What’s not to like about Bath Short Story Award cup cakes?

A few weeks ago, on December 3^rd , we held a party with cakes, wine and guests from all over the world, crammed together in a writerly buzz ─ separate, yet connected, on two full Zoom screens. For the second year running our anthology launch was online but, although nothing beats the quirky conviviality of an evening at Mr B’s (officially one of the world’s best bookshops, according to The Guardian), with Covid still around it wasn’t an option.

Jude welcomed our authors, guests and Norah Perkins, the 2021 judge. Norah, an agent at Curtis Brown, spoke about the quality of the stories on the shortlist and was full of praise for the authors. 2^nd Prize winner Stephanie Carty kicked off the readings with a lively extract from Davey, Plastic Jesus and the Holy Spirit, followed by Seattle-based Kristen Loesch (3^rd Prize) who read from Important Letters. Further readings were from Lynda Mason’s Highly Commended The Great Pretender, which also won The Acorn Award for an Unpublished Writer of Fiction, The Pheasant by Ruth Bateson which won the Local Prize (sponsored by Mr B’s) and Rosaleen Lynch’s Hail. Continue reading →

Friday, December 3^rd 2021 – 19:30 pm to 21:30 pm GMT

We’re excited to launch our eighth print anthology, published again by the award-winning indie press,  Ad Hoc Fiction. The 2021 collection from this year’s shortlist is a diverse and eclectic selection of powerful, moving and occasionally humorous stories and you’re invited to join us to hear extracts read by the authors and the BSSA team.  Our 2021 judge Norah Perkins found all the stories ‘spoke eloquently’ and said how difficult it was to choose a winner. She added, ‘The winners of this year’s award all demonstrate radical compassion, diverse perspectives, and truly extraordinary voices – I can’t wait to read what they write next.’ 

Although nothing beats a cosy evening at the wonderful Mr B’s Emporium of Books in Bath, we’re holding this year’s launch on Zoom again, as there are still Covid concerns. Luckily, it means authors can join us from across the world and different time zones. In addition to the readings, there will be breakout groups to chat to other writers and guests and, at the end, a raffle. We’ll also launch next year’s award and reveal the identity of our 2022 judge (it’s someone many of you will know quite well!). Continue reading →