‘Eleven Stories 2025’
.pdf + print edition
.pdf + print edition
‘Eleven Stories 2025’
.pdf + print edition
€2.50 – €11.00
‘Generous, soulful distillations. A tasting flight of prosaic kerosene. Each story ignited a flare in a forsaken corner of my mind. I can’t wait to experience more from these voices.’
—Henry Hoke
‘Wonderful: some very subtle, intimate and beautiful, others wildly imaginative and deeply thoughtful.’
—Ottessa Moshfegh
Eleven Stories 2025 collects the shortlist from our eighth short fiction prize and is available in either:
DON’T FORGET: YOU GET €2.50 OFF ENTRY TO THE 2026 PRIZE…
- PDF – €2.5
- PRINT + PDF – €11 / a limited edition copy and the PDF to boot.
**shipping is by Spanish postal service and doesn’t carry tracking, which can be added for €15 on demand via email!
One of our most exciting selections yet, our 2025 shortlist covers a spectrum of experimental and boundary pushing fiction.
From a Faulknerian river story to the lushest, queerest body horror — from cross-country feminist malaise to cross-border love — prophets, mothers, labourers — a tedious apocalypse, post-capitalist hope — these eleven stories are brimming with magic, longing, and humour.
Including work by:
Shastri Akella (WINNER), Swithun Cooper (RUNNER-UP), Alisha Dietzman (RUNNER-UP), Chloe Agar, Sohini Basak, Shelley Hastings (EU SALON PRIZE), Miguel Arroyo, Matthew Kinlin, Iseult de Mallet Burgess, Fox McGlasson, and Juan Fernando Villagómez (DL RESIDENCY PRIZE)
ABOUT THIS YEAR’S WINNING STORY:
‘Tender… and haunting’ —Ottessa Moshfegh
PLEASE NOTE: for orders over 5 copies, please contact us at hello@desperateliterature.com
Complete the look
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The Full Whammy:
Eleven Stories, Literary Prize
Eleven Stories 2018 – 2025
(the .pdfs)€10.00Get the bundle of all seven current editions of Eleven Stories in .pdf format, bringing together the shortlist from our seven previous short fiction prizes.
Don't forget, you get €2.50 reimbursed if you enter the prize, just use the promotional code in the receipt!Only the best in contemporary experimental fiction...
ABOUT THE COLLECTIONS:
‘Generous, soulful distillations. A tasting flight of prosaic kerosene. Each story ignited a flare in a forsaken corner of my mind. I can’t wait to experience more from these voices.’—Henry Hoke, 2025 Judge
‘Wonderful: some very subtle, intimate and beautiful, others wildly imaginative and deeply thoughtful.’—Ottessa Moshfegh
‘There is such energy in these stories. Such pulse!’ —Tiffany Tsao, 2023 Judge
‘Reading these stories made me feel glad for the future of short stories.’ —Anton Hur, 2022 Judge
‘In these rich and vibrant stories, the language surprises and delights. From surreal mouse proposals to the catharsis of visible grief, via the uncertainty of memory and perception, each of these stories creates a new, engrossing reality while shedding light on our own.’ —Natasha Brown, 2022 Judge
I loved reading the shortlist selection which realizes the Desperate Literature team’s ambition to reimagine and diversify contemporary writing. The stories represented are inquisitive, irreverential, critical, and fully committed to their respective creative projects. I’ve never been more hopeful for the future of fiction, and the Desperate Literature Prize plays no small part in this.’ —Waidner, 2021 Judge
‘I thoroughly enjoyed reading these submissions, which surprised me with their honest poise, their integrity, and their understated adherence to the values of literature. In the hands of some of these writers, the story form was brought to bear on the modern scene in new and astute ways.’ —Rachel Cusk, 2020 Judge
'The 2019 Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize has once again produced a memorable collection of diverse, dynamic short stories. It was a joy to read.' —Claire-Louise Bennett, 2019 Judge
‘The 2019 Desperate Literature Prize has produced an incredibly impressive shortlist of stories. It’s an exciting, powerful and original selection. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.’ —Holly Faulks, Literary Agent at Greene & Heaton
*PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS WE HAVE REMOVED JOANNA WALSH'S SHORTLISTED STORY FROM THE 2018 PDF.YOUR DOWNLOAD WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE RECEIPT PAGE AFTER PURCHASE
Additional information
| product: | The 2025 .pdf download, THE PRINT EDITION |
|---|
Alejandro Zambra (SIGNED)
GIFTS, Hotcakes, LiteratureTo help raise funds for our imminent move, this month we're selling our signed Alejandro Zambra translations. There's the added bonus of the copies also being signed by Zambra's translator, Megan McDowell!
There's a limited amount, so get them while you can!
...and of course we'll throw in some merch for good measure... ALL EDITIONS IN ENGLISH
€20.00
Sold out
Bookland Passport
Literature, Rare items
The Bookland Passport
Issued by Typewronger books in Edinburgh, this is your passport to, from, in and out of indie bookshops around the world!
Get it stamped, signed, or whatever you like, wherever you find an independent bookshop!
Riso printed and beautifully illustrated
All about Bookland:
Bookland is a country you reach through reading, through talking about books with your friends, and through hanging out in your local bookshop. Though we issue passports for Bookland, the territory it encompasses spans the entire known world, plus quite a few as yet unexplored dimensions, and also exists across the totality of the Temporal Realm. Bookland's National Motto is LIBRI SINE TERMINO, which can translate two ways, either as "Books Without Borders" or "Books Without End". All indie bookshops are unofficial Embassies of Bookland, and any can become an Official Embassy simply by issuing passports which can be supplied by emailing the mysterious Secretary to the Grand High Ambassador of Bookland. Citizens of Bookland don't need documentation to prove their status... but it sure is fun!
€12.00
All about Bookland:
Bookland is a country you reach through reading, through talking about books with your friends, and through hanging out in your local bookshop. Though we issue passports for Bookland, the territory it encompasses spans the entire known world, plus quite a few as yet unexplored dimensions, and also exists across the totality of the Temporal Realm. Bookland's National Motto is LIBRI SINE TERMINO, which can translate two ways, either as "Books Without Borders" or "Books Without End". All indie bookshops are unofficial Embassies of Bookland, and any can become an Official Embassy simply by issuing passports which can be supplied by emailing the mysterious Secretary to the Grand High Ambassador of Bookland. Citizens of Bookland don't need documentation to prove their status... but it sure is fun!
€12.00
‘Eleven Stories 2019’ PDF download
Literary PrizeEleven Stories 2019 collects the shortlist from our second short fiction prize and is available for a limited period in pdf format as a response to the lockdown measures put in place by the Spanish government.
All sales will be shared between Desperate Literature and the authors.
->ONLY €2.20<-
Only the best in contemporary experimental fiction...
Here's what the magnificent Eley Williams and Claire-Louise Bennett have to say about our selection:
'The 2019 entries revealed all the seething, the subtle and the searing possibilities of the short story -- it was a pleasure and privilege to celebrate them all' - Eley Williams
'The 2019 Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize has once again produced a memorable collection of diverse, dynamic short stories. It was a joy to read' - Claire-Louise Bennett
‘The 2019 Desperate Literature Prize has produced an incredibly impressive shortlist of stories. It’s an exciting, powerful and original selection. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.’ - Holly Faulks, Literary Agent at Greene & Heaton
€2.50
Prize Submission 2026
Literary Prize, Prize EntryThe 2026 Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction is NOW OPEN for submissions
Before you enter, please ensure that you are eligible to enter the prize and have read our 'Eligibility & Conditions' page for the details on all the prizes. If you have any questions, you can also consult our FAQs page. Entries are limited to ten pieces per person. If you'd like to own previously shortlisted stories, with submission entry you can get a free .pdf copy of Eleven Stories 2025 and €2.50 off both the full pdf bundle (2018 - 2025) as well as the print edition of Eleven Stories 2025. Just remember to add it to the cart at the time of purchase! If you have any issues with the submission or uploading, we made an FAQs page to help out!FILES ARE UPLOADED AFTER CHECKOUT JUST SCROLL TO THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE RECEIPT PAGE
Please note: in order to benefit from the multiple entry discount, all entries must be made at the same time.
€20 Single Entry (+ €10 every further entry)