.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
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Complete the look
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€10.00The 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 |
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Eleven Stories 2021 – 2024
Literary Prize, PROMO‘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
Pick up four years of anthologies for just €20 + shipping! Alternatively, you can get the full bundle of anthologies in .pdf format for just €10 HERE!

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.


‘Eleven Stories 2024’
.pdf + print edition
Eleven Stories, Literary Prize Eleven Stories 2024 collects the shortlist from our seventh short fiction prize and is available in either:
- PDF - €2.5 (which can be recouped against entry to the 2025 prize!)
- 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!
We're proud to present what is one of our most marvellous collections to date, including musings on menial labour under capitalism, longing, displacement, dementia, end-of-the-world hedonism, the joys of hope, and so much more.
Including work by: Sukie Wilson (WINNER), Amanda Hildebrandt (RUNNER-UP), Richie Jones (RUNNER-UP), JL Bogenschneider, Lizzie Challen Hubbard, Heather Colley, D.P. Strickland, Shane Tivenan, Aled Turner, Preeti Vangani, and Richard Westley
ABOUT THIS YEAR'S WINNING STORY:
'From the first paragraph, ‘Leaving Night Country’ catches us with its incredible narrative voice. Wilson has a keen sense of music and rhythm. We are left with a sense of wonder.' — MEGAN MCDOWELL, 2024 Judge
PLEASE NOTE: for orders over 5 copies, please contact us at hello@desperateliterature.com


The Unamuno Author Series Festival Anthology
LiteratureIn 2019, over eighty poets and academics came to Madrid to form the city’s first anglophone literary festival.
Containing works from local performance poets and pulitzer prize winners alike, this bilingual collection represents a body of work capturing a glimpse of the itinerant anglophone poetry community that has passed through Madrid in recent years.
‘An unprecedented organization of writers from around the world ... I hope many more poets, writers, and readers get to benefit from this truly exceptional point of exchange.’ —Gregory Pardlo
‘..an international reading series which is inclusive, eccentric, very inspiring, which has been instigated by somebody who not only loves and understands poetry, but loves and understands people. That’s a rare thing, and something that should be celebrated.’ —Caitríona O’Reilly
Details: 320 pages 170mm x 240mm 0.626 kg
Cover art by Mark Strand An Unamuno Author Series and Desperate Literature title
Including work by:
Carl Adamshick, Nico Amador, Francisco Aragón, David Baker, Layla Benitez-James, Richard Blanco, Peg Boyers, Jericho Brown, Barney Bush, Rafael Carvajal, Mario Chard, Scott Cunningham; Joanne Diaz, Mark Doty, Michael Dumanis, Mary Moore Easter, Kit Fan, Joseph Fasano, Monica Ferrell, Joan Fleming, Kathleen Flenniken, Carolyn Forché, Livia Franchini, Forrest Gander, Dana Gioia, Aracelis Girmay, Rigoberto González, Jennifer Grotz, Christian Gullette, Marilyn Hacker, Tom Healy, Travis Helms, Marie Howe, Jenny Johnson, Marjorie Kanter, John Koethe, Shara Lessley, Su Smallen Love, Sheila Maldonado, Campbell McGrath, Ricardo Menes, Naomi Mulvihill, Luis Muñoz, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Sharon Olds, Caitríona O’Reilly, Gregory Pardlo, Elena Penga, Emilia Phillips, Dana Prescott, Ruben Quesada, Octavio Quintanilla, Spencer Reece, Paisley Rekdal, Luis J. Rodríguez, Steven Sanchez, Annie Schumacher, Richard Scott, Martha Serpas, Bruce Snider, Page Hill Starzinger, Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Jeremy Voigt, Clarissa Watson, Michael White, Mark Wunderlich, Monica Youn, Maya Jewell Zeller, Mark Strand
