Angela Readman and Sheila Llewellyn among six shortlisted authors – all chosen blind – for a second time
'A much-needed feeling of validation' ... the Costa short story award
Six writers have been revealed as the finalists for the Costa short story award – and two in particular are reeling, after being picked out of thousands of anonymous entries for the second year running.
The prize sees a panel of judges select the six best entries from more than 1,400 stories submitted this year. The authors' identities are kept secret from judges, but, remarkably, for the second year in a row they wound up choosing stories by the writers Angela Readman and Sheila Llewellyn.
Readman's entry this year was the short story The Keeper of the Jackalopes, about "a girl, her father, a Jackalope and survival", while Llewellyn was selected for her entry The Papakh Hat, set during the Iranian revolution, and following the lives of two men who "are forced to make life-changing decisions about their future together". Both writers were also shortlisted for the 2012 short story award, which was also judged anonymously and which had more than 1,800 entries.
"I was amazed to be shortlisted last year and even more amazed this year. It's a real boost to my confidence. There are some fantastic stories again, this year, so I'll go along to the award ceremony, but not hold my breath. I guess I can celebrate the achievement of being shortlisted twice – anything else will be a bonus," said Llewellyn, who worked for the British Council in Iran, Africa and Singapore, and then retrained as a psychologist specialising in post-traumatic stress disorder before turning to writing.
Readman, who is currently working on a short-story collection and who has won awards for her poetry, was also stunned. "I was shocked to get shortlisted again. What are the odds? I don't know, I can't do that sort of maths," she said. "It's not something anyone expects, particularly from a writer who hasn't had a story collection or anything out yet. I love that it could happen though – that it's so anonymous these things can happen. It's a confidence boost for anyone to get on the shortlist I think, but for unknown writers it's amazing. It's a much-needed feeling of validation … you're suddenly not writing in the dark."
This year, Readman and Llewellyn are up against stories from Tony Bagley, Clare Chandler, Erin Soros and Kit de Waal. The public has been voting on the six entries, with voting now closed, and the authors' names kept secret until today. The winner will be announced at the Costa book awards on 28 January, and will receive £3,500.
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The prize sees a panel of judges select the six best entries from more than 1,400 stories submitted this year. The authors' identities are kept secret from judges, but, remarkably, for the second year in a row they wound up choosing stories by the writers Angela Readman and Sheila Llewellyn.
Readman's entry this year was the short story The Keeper of the Jackalopes, about "a girl, her father, a Jackalope and survival", while Llewellyn was selected for her entry The Papakh Hat, set during the Iranian revolution, and following the lives of two men who "are forced to make life-changing decisions about their future together". Both writers were also shortlisted for the 2012 short story award, which was also judged anonymously and which had more than 1,800 entries.
"I was amazed to be shortlisted last year and even more amazed this year. It's a real boost to my confidence. There are some fantastic stories again, this year, so I'll go along to the award ceremony, but not hold my breath. I guess I can celebrate the achievement of being shortlisted twice – anything else will be a bonus," said Llewellyn, who worked for the British Council in Iran, Africa and Singapore, and then retrained as a psychologist specialising in post-traumatic stress disorder before turning to writing.
Readman, who is currently working on a short-story collection and who has won awards for her poetry, was also stunned. "I was shocked to get shortlisted again. What are the odds? I don't know, I can't do that sort of maths," she said. "It's not something anyone expects, particularly from a writer who hasn't had a story collection or anything out yet. I love that it could happen though – that it's so anonymous these things can happen. It's a confidence boost for anyone to get on the shortlist I think, but for unknown writers it's amazing. It's a much-needed feeling of validation … you're suddenly not writing in the dark."
This year, Readman and Llewellyn are up against stories from Tony Bagley, Clare Chandler, Erin Soros and Kit de Waal. The public has been voting on the six entries, with voting now closed, and the authors' names kept secret until today. The winner will be announced at the Costa book awards on 28 January, and will receive £3,500.
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