THE NAMES of the twelve writers whose stories will appear in this year’s Asham Award anthology have been announced.
The judges - Lennie Goodings of Virago; Helen Dunmore and writer Sarah Wheeler - met in London to make their selection from the short list.
“It was a really difficult choice,” said Lennie “because the standard was so high. But we’ve come up with a book we’re really pleased with.”
The winning writers come from all over the UK - from as far afield as Newcastle upon Tyne, Whitstable in Kent; Hastings and Brighton in East Sussex; Lincoln, Norwich; London; Thame in Oxfordshire, Northampton, and Basildon, Essex.
The anthology will be published by Virago in August and there will be a prize-giving ceremony during the Small Wonder short story festival at Charleston, East Sussex, in late September. All twelve will receive cash prizes and will also be competing for the top three prizes of nearly £2,000 sponsored by Much Ado Books of Alfriston, East Sussex.
The twelve winning writers are:
Deepa Anappara (The Elephant in the Suitcase)
Pippa Gough (The Journey to the Brothers’ Farm)
Tessa Green (Departure Time)
Lynn Kramer (Legs)
Penelope MacDonald (A Sense of Perspective)
Kate Marsh (School Run)
Dawn Nicholson (Pay Day)
Dolores Pinto (Where Life Takes You)
Angela Readman (Birds Without Wings)
Carol Rowntree-Jones (Level and Nearly Unaffected)
Emily Russell (Hwyl)
Diana Svennes-Smith (Leaving Her)
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