Rebecca Hall reads one of the five contenders for this major award for the short story.
Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Produced by Elizabeth Allard

Now in its ninth year, the BBC National Short Story Award continues to be one of the most prestigious and established awards for a single short story. The 2014 short list crowns a year which has seen short story writers scoop many of the major literary awards including the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Man Booker International Prize.

The shortlist for this year's BBC National Short Story Award in partnership with Booktrust comprises five beguiling and compelling stories from a mix of terrifically acclaimed writers in the genre and exciting up-and-coming writers, all vying for the top award of £15,000. Pivoting on transformative moments in people's lives, the stories are intimate explorations and reflections of coming of age, the attritions of time, love and betrayal. They take listeners across the globe from Wales and Kenya to London and New York.

The readers of this year's shortlist include Carey Mulligan and Rebecca Hall. Listeners can enjoy each story at 3.30pm from Monday 22nd September, following an interview with the author on the previous evening's Front Row (beginning on Friday 19th September). The shortlist will be announced on Front Row on Wednesday 17th September, and the winner and the runner-up will be announced in a special edition of the programme live from the BBC's Radio Theatre on Tuesday 30th September.

The stories will be available as a free download following broadcast, and in an anthology published by Comma Press. Show less