The annual Edge Hill Prize awards £10,000 to the author of what the judges consider to be the best published short-story collection from the UK or Ireland. This year’s shortlist includes previous winner Kevin Barry, plus four debut authors. It also includes two short story cycles. Full list below:
- Paradise Block by Alice Ash (Serpent’s Tail/Profile);
- That Old Country Music by Kevin Barry (Canongate).
- Lifestyle Choice 10mg by Rosemary Jenkinson (Doire Press);
- The Earth, Thy Great Exchequer, Ready Lies by Jo Lloyd (Swift Press);
- Made by Sea and Wood, in Darkness by Alexandros Plasatis (Spuyten Duyvil);
- She-Clown by Hannah Vincent (Myriad Editions).
Small and independent publishers have made a strong showing. There’s a huge amount of variety amongst these collections, ranging from tales of migrant fishermen (Plasatis) to postmodern historical fiction (Lloyd) and a magic realist version of life on a council estate (Ash). The winner will be announced early in 2022 – hopefully at a live event in the UK.