‘Eleven Stories 2026’
.pdf + print edition (PRE-ORDER)
.pdf + print edition (PRE-ORDER)
‘Eleven Stories 2026’
.pdf + print edition (PRE-ORDER)
€2.50 – €11.00
‘The Desperate Literature Short Story Prize remains a beacon for experiment in times when this is both increasingly rare and increasingly vital’
—Joanna Walsh
‘so structurally inventive’
—Ottessa Moshfegh
Eleven Stories 2026 collects the shortlist from our ninth short fiction prize and is available in either:
- PDF – €2.5
- PRINT + PDF – €11 / a limited edition copy and the PDF to boot.
**shipping is temporarily suspended due to Trumps tarifs and new EU shipping laws. It will recommence in the autumn.
Spanning continents, Eleven Stories 2026 collects stories of wit and transformation, from the playful to the experimental, covering everything from personal grief and reparation to coming-of-age oddities, meditations on writing in the age of AI, metatextual friendships, (sacre)religious delvings and more…
Including work by:
Mimi Kawahara (WINNER), Emily Roese (RUNNER-UP), Eric Baker (RUNNER-UP), Katie Assef, Saad Bin Iftikhar, Imogen Clarke, Christian Emecheta, Jennifer Green, Esther Leaming (DL RESIDENCY PRIZE), L. J. de Pedro (EU SALON PRIZE), Alexandra Symons-Sutcliffe
ABOUT THIS YEAR’S WINNING STORY:
‘devastatingly intimate…accomplishes something exceedingly rare.’ —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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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 2026 .pdf download, THE PRINT EDITION |
|---|
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The Naked Lunch
William Burrough
SIGNED
Literature, Rare items
The Olympia Press, 1959
First edition, SIGNED.
This carries a stamped 18NF over the original 1500F price. France adopted the nouveau franc in 1963, so we can assume that this edition didn't sell until after this point!
CONTACT US at hello@desperateliterature.com for more info or to book a visit!
€2,750.00
CONTACT US at hello@desperateliterature.com for more info or to book a visit!
€2,750.00
‘Eleven Stories 2022’
Literary PrizeEleven Stories 2022 collects the shortlist from our fourth short fiction prize and is available in either:
PDF - €2.50 PRINT - €11 / a limited edition copy, numbered and stamped by our fine selves
The shortlisted stories were exquisitely written and completely delightful in their power to surprise and astonish in a remarkably few number of words. Reading these stories made me feel glad for the future of short stories and excited me for reading more. I hope other readers feel the same way - ANTON HUR
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
Here's what the magnificent Rachel Cusk and Niven Govinden have to say about our 2020 selection:
‘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 ‘I was bowled over by the power, inquiry, and humour of these stories. They shine brightly in the mind after reading.’ – Niven Govinden
€2.50 – €11.00
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Juana y La Cibernética (edición bilingüe)
No Category, LiteratureTHE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATION OF A CHILEAN MASTERPIECE
Juana y la cibernetica is a proto-cyberfeminist, proleterian, machine-loving work of solitary confinement by Elena Aldunate, "La Dama Chilena de la ciencia-ficción".BILINGUAL EDITION EDICIÓN BILINGÜE
The edition comes with parallel bilingual texts and a fiction response by author Jo Lindsay Walton.María Elena Aldunate Bezanilla (1925-2005) was born in Santiago, Chile, and wrote under the name of Elena Aldunate. She became associated with the science fiction scene in Chile in the 1960s and 1970s, publishing a number of short fiction works and anthologies. These include Juana y la cibernética (1963), El señor de las mariposas (1967), Angélica y el delfín (1976) and Del cosmos las quieren vírgenes (1977).
Jo Lindsay Walton is a writer, editor and Research Fellow in Critical and Cultural Theory in the Sussex Humanities Lab. He is interested in the intersection of culture, technology, and economics. With Polina Levontin, he co-edits Vector, the critical journal of the British Science Fiction Association, and with Samantha Walton, he runs the poetry press Sad Press. @jolwalton
Our print edition will be a limited edition riso production made by Do The Print, Barcelona Translation by Ana Baeza Ruiz and Elizabeth Stainforth Cover design by Terry Craven 44 pages €8 - limited edition riso print version (OUT OF PRINT) €2 - .pdf edition
€2.00
Eleven Stories 2021 – 2024
Literary Prize, PROMO
The Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction is an international award for innovative new writing.
€20.00
‘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
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!
€20.00