Episodes
Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
01 | Pray by Caleb Azumah Nelson | 20200914 | Caleb Azumah Nelson is the first writer shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2020. Ben Bailey Smith reads this powerful, poetic parable about loss, longing and brotherhood. Recalling a hot, remembered summer in South East London, the story is as urgent and universal as it is evocative.
From the short and pithy to the layered and literary, via robust poetics, family hierarchies and maligned youth, this year's shortlist is the perfect reflection of all this ever-flexible fictional form can do. As a star-studded cast celebrate the fifteenth year of the BBC National Short Story award with Cambridge University, the short story, be it humorous, witty or poignant, retains its ability to surprise, delight and move us in equal measure.
Now in its fifteenth year, the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University is one of the most prestigious for a single short story. Following the announcement of the shortlist on Radio 4's Front Row, on Friday, 11th September, the five stories in contention for the 2020 award will be broadcast each weekday afternoon on Radio 4 at half past three from Monday, 14th September. Each of the shortlisted writers will be interviewed the evening preceding the broadcast of their story on Front Row, and the winner will be announced live on the programme Tuesday 6th October. All the stories will be available on BBC Sounds after broadcast, and there will be a special edition of the Short Story podcast for each to download.
Read by Ben Bailey Smith
Caleb Azumah Nelson's story is a powerful parable about loss, longing and brotherhood. Stories shortlisted for the National Short Story Award |
02 | In the Car With the Rain Coming Down by Jan Carson | 20200915 | Jan Carson is the next author shortlisted for this year's BBC National Short Story Award. In her gently humorous tale of a family get-together that doesn't go quite as planned. Laura Donnelly is the reader.
From the short and pithy to the layered and literary, via robust poetics, family hierarchies and maligned youth, this year's shortlist is the perfect reflection of all this ever-flexible fictional form can do. As a star-studded cast celebrate the fifteenth year of the BBC National Short Story award with Cambridge University, the short story, be it humorous, witty or poignant, retains its ability to surprise, delight and move us in equal measure.
Now in its fifteenth year, the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University is one of the most prestigious for a single short story. Following the announcement of the shortlist on Radio 4's Front Row, on Friday, 11th September, the five stories in contention for the 2020 award will be broadcast each weekday afternoon on Radio 4 at half past three from Monday, 14th September. Each of the shortlisted writers will be interviewed the evening preceding the broadcast of their story on Front Row, and the winner will be announced live on the programme Tuesday 6th October. All the stories will be available on BBC Sounds after broadcast, and there will be a special edition of the Short Story podcast for each to download.
Read by Laura Donnelly
Jan Carson\u2019s story is the gently humorous tale of a Northern Irish family get-together. Stories shortlisted for the National Short Story Award |
03 | The Grotesques by Sarah Hall | 20200916 | Sarah Hall, winner of the 2013 award, and four-time nominee, is the next writer in contention for the prestigious BBC National Short Story Award with a beautifully observed story. On her thirtieth birthday Dilly explores truths about her family, her relationship with her overbearing mother, and the masking of identity. Lydia Wilson is the reader.
From the short and pithy to the layered and literary, via robust poetics, family hierarchies and maligned youth, this year's shortlist is the perfect reflection of all this ever-flexible fictional form can do. As a star-studded cast celebrate the fifteenth year of the BBC National Short Story award with Cambridge University, the short story, be it humorous, witty or poignant, retains its ability to surprise, delight and move us in equal measure.
Now in its fifteenth year, the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University is one of the most prestigious for a single short story. Following the announcement of the shortlist on Radio 4's Front Row, on Friday, 11th September, the five stories in contention for the 2020 award will be broadcast each weekday afternoon on Radio 4 at half past three from Monday, 14th September. Each of the shortlisted writers will be interviewed the evening preceding the broadcast of their story on Front Row, and the winner will be announced live on the programme Tuesday 6th October. All the stories will be available on BBC Sounds after broadcast, and there will be a special edition of the Short Story podcast for each to download.
Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Sarah Hall's evocative story about a troubled young woman. Stories shortlisted for the National Short Story Award |
04 | Come Down Heavy by Jack Houston | 20200917 | Jack Houston is the next writer up for the BBC National Short Story Award, 2020. His shortlisted story is about Simone and Jackie, two women living on the edge of society who are caught in a downward spiral of addiction and poverty. Anne-Marie Duff is the reader.
From the short and pithy to the layered and literary, via robust poetics, family hierarchies and maligned youth, this year's shortlist is the perfect reflection of all this ever-flexible fictional form can do. As a star-studded cast celebrate the fifteenth year of the BBC National Short Story award with Cambridge University, the short story, be it humorous, witty or poignant, retains its ability to surprise, delight and move us in equal measure.
Now in its fifteenth year, the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University is one of the most prestigious for a single short story. Following the announcement of the shortlist on Radio 4's Front Row, on Friday, 11th September, the five stories in contention for the 2020 award will be broadcast each weekday afternoon on Radio 4 at half past three from Monday, 14th September. Each of the shortlisted writers will be interviewed the evening preceding the broadcast of their story on Front Row, and the winner will be announced live on the programme Tuesday 6th October. All the stories will be available on BBC Sounds after broadcast, and there will be a special edition of the Short Story podcast for each to download.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
Jack Houston's experimental story about two women living on the edge of society. Stories shortlisted for the National Short Story Award |
05 | Scrimshaw by Eley Williams | 20200918 | Eley Williams is the next writer in contention for the BBC National Short Story Award, 2020. Her shortlisted entry is a cautionary tale about late night texts and mating walruses, where a very contemporary search for connection lurks beneath wit and wordplay. Charlotte Ritchie reads.
From the short and pithy to the layered and literary, via robust poetics, family hierarchies and maligned youth, this year's shortlist is the perfect reflection of all this ever-flexible fictional form can do. As a star-studded cast celebrate the fifteenth year of the BBC National Short Story award with Cambridge University, the short story, be it humorous, witty or poignant, retains its ability to surprise, delight and move us in equal measure.
Now in its fifteenth year, the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University is one of the most prestigious for a single short story. Following the announcement of the shortlist on Radio 4's Front Row, on Friday, 11th September, the five stories in contention for the 2020 award will be broadcast each weekday afternoon on Radio 4 at half past three from Monday, 14th September. Each of the shortlisted writers will be interviewed the evening preceding the broadcast of their story on Front Row, and the winner will be announced live on the programme Tuesday 6th October. All the stories will be available on BBC Sounds after broadcast, and there will be a special edition of the Short Story podcast for each to download.
(This episode also features a taster read by Clare Corbett of The Hotel, a series of ghost stories with a feminist slant which goes out on Radio 4 from 20th September)
Read by Charlotte Ritchie
Eley Williams witty and cautionary tale about late night texts and mating walruses. Stories shortlisted for the National Short Story Award |