THE WINNERS

FIRST PLACE:

Frailings by Ed Cottrell

RUNNERS UP:

Notes on Beynon’s Veil by Gordon Collins
Blanch by Caitlin Ingham

SHORTLISTED STORIES:
A German Fable by David Rhymes
Animal, Mineral by Jennifer Coralie
Butter by Alanna McArdle
Clio by Jay G Ying
Free Women by Joanna Walsh
Paternoster by Betsy Porritt
Seven Ways To Heal A Broken Heart by Victoria Richards
What This Country Needs Is Another War! by Georgia Hazelgrove

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
8×8 Grid by Emilia McKenzie, Bird by Andrew Bennett, Dress Rehearsal by Dominique Hecq, Ta No Kami by Peter Coles, The Cloud Collector by Mauricio Montiel Figueiras, The Plant Murderer by Paola Moretti, The Stories of The Wooden Spoon by Brian Collins, There is no Compulsion in Religion by Anjuli Pandavar, Twin Season by Mikaella Clements

ELEY WILLIAMS on the shortlist selection:

‘This brilliant shortlist celebrates everything that I value in literature — its demands, its affirmations, its possibilities. Linguistically playful, narratively deft: each story demonstrated the ways in which writing’s verve can thrill in the vein and trill on the ear. It was incredibly difficult to find winners: all of the writers’ entries were assured in their teetering, fiery in their freshness and bold in their complexity and should be congratulated and thanked.’

First Prize:

– €1000
– A week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation
– A consultation with a US Literary Agent from Foundry Literary + Media

Runners-up Prizes:

– €250 (two prizes available)

All Winners:

– Publication in 3:AM, Structo Magazine, and A Women’s Thing
– Participation in The Desperate Literature Prize Salon (a Salon, no less), at Desperate Literature, Madrid
– Participation in The Desperate Literature Prize Salon, at Shakespeare and Company, Paris (TBC)
– Participation in the Rizoma Film Festival (TBC)*

All Shortlisted Stories:

– will be published in a truly smashing, limited edition Risograph booklet published by ourselves truly and launched at the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize Salon, Madrid*

*before entering, please read our terms and conditions to see how the prize is funded, prize details, entry conditions and your eligibility.

The Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Italy.

The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize aims to celebrate not just the best of brief fiction, but the continued growth of an Anglophone literary community in Madrid.

As such, we’ve teamed up with some wonderful partners to offer the winner, the two runners-up and even the short listed writers an opportunity to grow their writing career and celebrate their work.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

14th February 2018
Midnight GMT + 1 (Madrid vermouth hour)

SHORTLIST SELECTION:

14th March 2018

WINNERS ANNOUNCED:

31st March 2018

ENTRY FEE:

€20 for the first entry
€10 for every further entry
(max. of five entries per person)

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

– The Desperate Literature Short Fiction prize is awarded to an original work of fiction under 2000 words
– Translations are accepted, but the prize is awarded to the original writer, not the translator
– Submissions are anonymous
– Stories should be submitted in .pdf format upon payment of the entry fee, without mention of the author or translator name within the document. Submissions must be accompanied by a biography, submitted in the biography field found on the entry form.

FOR A FULL LIST OF GUIDELINES, SEE OUR ELIGIBILITY & CONDITIONS PAGE

SHORTLIST JUDGES

The first round of the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize will be judged by the Desperate Literature team: Terry Craven, Charlotte Delattre and Robert Greer. As soon as we have a short list, we’ll hand over to our shortlist judges.

Co-Editor for fiction at 3:AM, Hestia Peppe is an artist, writer and scholar living in London.

Co-editor for fiction at 3:AM Magazine, Eley Williams is a writer and lecturer based in Ealing. Her collection of short stories Attrib. And Other Stories (Influx Press) was chosen by Ali Smith as one of the best debut works of fiction published in 2017.