Congratulations to all the writers on the shortlist below who are listed in alphabetical order. Our judge, Samuel Hodder, literary agent from Blake Friedmann, Literary Agency UK, said he greatly enjoyed reading all the stories and it was a tough call to make final decisions. Read all his comments on his Judge’s report. Along with the winners, we are looking forward to seeing all their wonderful shortlisted stories in print in paperback and digital formats in our seventh anthology, due to be published by Ad Hoc Fiction in the autumn.

Karen Ashe

Karen Ashe  wrote the shortlisted story, INDIAN SUMMER.
The first short story Karen ever wrote took second prize in the South China Morning Post short story competition. Since then, she has completed the Mlitt in Creative Writing and Glasgow University and been the recipient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers’ Award.
She has been published in Mslexia and Gutter magazine, has been three times Highly Commended in the Bridport short story prize, short-listed in the Bridport poetry prize, shortlisted and honourably mentioned in the Fish Poetry Prrize, and been place third in the Reflex Fiction flash fiction competition.

Lisa Blackwell

Lisa Blackwell wrote the shortlisted story, FISH FACE. Lisa writes plays and scripts and short fiction. She has had a short play produced at Rich Mix, London and was a finalist for Triforce Creative Network’s Writerslam 2015, with a drama script. She had a rehearsed reading of a full-length play at the RADA Contemporary Drama Summer Course 2017 and was playreading 54 of the Women@RADA 100 playreadings, in January 2018. She has had short fiction published by MIROnline. She is currently studying for a Master’s in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford.

Dan Coxon

Dan Coxon wrote the shortlisted story, GOYA IN THE DEAF MAN’S HOUSE.
Dan’s writing has appeared in The Guardian, Salon, The Lonely Crowd, Open Pen, Black Static, STORGY, Unthology and many other places, sometimes under the name Ian Steadman. His anthology This Dreaming Isle (Unsung Stories) was shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Awards 2018, and Being Dad won Best Anthology at the Saboteur Awards 2016. When he isn’t writing, he runs a freelance editorial service at momuseditorial.co.uk. You can find him on Twitter @dancoxonauthor.

Rupert Dastur

Rupert Dastur wrote the shortlisted story, EVERY NINETY SECONDS. Rupert is a writer, editor, and publisher. He studied English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and now runs TSS Publishing and directs the Cambridge Prize. He is Associate Editor at The Word Factory, Events Coordinator for the Society of Young Publishers and curates WritingCompetitions.org His own writing has appeared in a number of places online and in print. More can be found about his work at www.rupertdastur.com

Mary Griese

Mary Griese wrote the shortlisted story, THE SWEET BUSINESS.
Mary is a writer and artist, with an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. She has been placed for several short story prizes including winning second prize in BSSA, 2017 and has written articles for The Guardian and farming magazines. Her debut novel Where Crows Would Die is being published next year by Y Lolfa in Wales. She formed ‘Slightly Sheepish’ (painting watercolours of sheep and other livestock) over thirty years ago while sheep farming on the Black Mountain in South Wales.

Karen Jones

Karen Jones wrote the shortlisted story, A DRINKER’S FACE.
Karen is a prose writer from Glasgow with a preference for flash and short fiction. She is addicted to writing competitions and is a perennial short-lister, though she has reached the prize winning stage a few times, including with Mslexia, Flash 500, Words With Jam and Ad Hoc Fiction. Her work is published in numerous ezines, magazines and anthologies. Her story Small Mercies was nominated for Best of the Net, the Pushcart Prize and is included in Best Small Fictions 2019.

Peter Jordan

Peter Jordan wrote the shortlisted story, AT THE VERY TOP OF THE WORLD.
Peter is a short story writer from Belfast. He has won numerous bursaries and awards, including three Arts Council Grants. In 2018, he was nominated for Best Small Fictions and Best of Net. In 2017, he won the Bare Fiction prize, came second in the Fish Prize and was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. Over fifty of his stories have appeared in literary magazines and journals. He has taken time out from a PhD in Belfast’s Seamus Heaney Centre to complete the edits on his short story collection, Calls to Distant Places, which can be pre-ordered on Amazon. You will find him on twitter @pm_jordan.

Vijay Khurana

Vijay Khurana wrote the shortlisted story, CIRCLING THE CHICKEN. Vijay has worked as a radio presenter and a journalist. Having lived in Australia, Cambodia and Germany, he moved to Norwich in 2017 to complete an MFA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. He was longlisted for the 2018/19 Galley Beggar Press short story prize, and his project ‘A Little Death’, featuring parodies of James Joyce’s ‘The Dead’ in the styles of other writers, can be found on creative-criticism site Beyond Criticism. His children’s chapter book Regal Beagle was published in 2014.

Flora Neville

Flora Neville wrote the shortlisted story THE ARMCHAIRS. Flora is a freelance writer and journalist based in London and travelling all over for stories. She has worked for publications including The Financial Times, The Daily Mail and The Week magazine. Since going freelance three years ago, Flora has written two books, one non-fiction and one fiction for children, and has been developing her short story writing. She has also spent time in a women’s prison where she has established a project to encourage female offenders to cook wholesome and hearty food inspired by Elizabeth David.

Eleni Polychronakos

Eleni Polychronakos wrote the shortlisted story, SILVER FOIL. Eleni is a writer and a PhD student in the Humanities Department at Concordia University in Montréal, Québec. Her interdisciplinary research-creation project combines Oral History, Literary Theory, and Creative Writing to explore the life narratives of Greek women who came of age during a time of authoritarian and patriarchal politics in Greece (1955-1974). Previously, she lived in Vancouver, where she was an editor with Room magazine, produced hour-long radio shows about feminism, and taught Settlement English to immigrants and refugees. Eleni’s fiction and journalism appear in publications in Canada and Japan.

Kate Vine

Kate Vine wrote the shortlisted story, BEAUTIFUL THINGS. Kate is a novelist and short fiction writer with an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. She was longlisted for the V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize 2018 and her stories have been published in Retreat West anthology, The Word for Freedom, and the Dear Damsels Annual 2019. She lives in Norwich where she is working on her first novel.

Dave Wakely


Dave Wakely wrote the shortlisted story, GRANDMA’S PERFUME.
Dave is one of the organisers of Milton Keynes Literary Festival and of the Lodestone Poets. A Birkbeck Creative Writing MA graduate, he started writing fiction after a career in publishing, copywriting, web design and university administration. Shortlisted for the Manchester Fiction Prize in 2017 amongst other competitions, his short stories have appeared in several literary magazines, including Ambit, Glitterwolf, Mechanics Institute Review, Prole, Shooter, Token, and the anthology Best Gay Stories 2017. He lives in Buckinghamshire with his husband and a growing collection of books, CDs and guitars.

Chloe Wilson

Chloe Wilson wrote the shortlisted story, JOYRIDERS.
Chloe is the author of two poetry collections, The Mermaid Problem and Not Fox Nor Axe, which was shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry and the Judith Wright Calanthe Award. She won the 2019 Iowa Review Award in Fiction, received second prize in the 2018 Bristol Short Story Prize, and was shortlisted for the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the 2018 Manchester Fiction Prize.