Last month, ALCS was thrilled to once again sponsor the award ceremony for this leading short story prize. At this year’s event, Emily Ruth Ford becomes the first writer to win the £1,000 award twice – this year for Please Be Good to Me, and last year for The Hikers.

The V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize was founded by the Royal Society of Literature in 1999, and ALCS has proudly sponsored the award ceremony for several years.

Speaking about the winning work, the judges gave their thoughts:

Leone Ross said “it sneaks up on you; what seems a simple meeting between strangers builds and builds into a tender, almost painful tale about vulnerability and what humans can and should do for each other. The writer asks us to slow down, to see each other’s smallness, to ask important questions about community. Restrained, timely and dare I say, important.”

Tibor Fischer called it “a simple, but clever story about London and us. An everyday incident at a busy London station that forces the reader to be there.”

Irenosen Okojie commented that it was “a tender, heartwarming tale on the complexities of ageing, the perils of finding your way and the perseverance of the human spirit.”

About the Royal Society of Literature

Founded in 1820, the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is Britain’s national charity for the advancement of literature. It acts as a national voice for the value of literature, engaging people in appreciating literature, and encouraging and honouring writers. In addition to the V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize, the RSL awards annually the new RSL Christopher Bland Prize for debut writers over 50, the RSL Ondaatje Prize for books best evoking the spirit of a place, the Encore Award for best second novel of the year, the RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction (first major commissioned works) and the RSL Literature Matters Awards to reward and enable literary excellence and innovation.