Clive Anderson to chair judging panel as BBC short story award opens its doors to international authors for the first time

The BBC’s annual showcase of outstanding short fiction launches today with an expanded worldwide quest to find the best international short story of 2012 to mark the Olympic year. The judging panel for the one-off BBC International Short Story Award will be chaired by broadcaster and comedy writer Clive Anderson and the winner announced on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.

For the first time since it launched in 2006, the BBC Short Story Award will see stories from home and abroad going head-to-head for the £15,000 cheque for first place. For one year only authors from across the globe will be eligible to enter alongside UK practitioners.

To reflect the global breadth of the Award in 2012 the shortlist will comprise ten short stories rather than the usual five. Each of the ten shortlisted stories will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over two weeks, showcasing the scope and diversity of the form in the run-up to the winner announcement.

The Award – one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000 – is now open for submissions from publishers, agents and authors from anywhere in the world who have been published in the UK. The closing date for entries is Thursday 27 February 2012.