The V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize is an annual award for unpublished short stories between 2000 to 4000 words in length. The winner will receive £1,000 and their entry will be published in Prospect magazine online and the RSL Review. We’re delighted to have a shortlist of 6 phenomenal stories, picked from hundreds of entries.

The judges, Jenn Ashworth, Cynan Jones and Emma Paterson, have selected:

• Kaliane Bradley – ‘Doggerland’
• Jeremy Galgut – ‘My Son Is Floating Through Spain’
• Katie Hale – ‘Wast Water, or The Deepest Love in England’
• Chris Kohler – ‘E Is For’
• Martin Raymond – ‘Messengers at Arms’
• Ruskin Smith – ‘Oddjobbing’

The winner of the 2022 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize will be announced on Thursday 30 March 2023.

The RSL is grateful to the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) for supporting this Prize. The RSL is also grateful to Prospect for publishing the winning story online.