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Bernie McGill wins £10k Edge Hill Short Story Prize
Bernie McGill has been crowned the winner of the £10,000 Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2023 for her collection This Train Is For (No Alibis Press). The literary award, now in its 17th year, recognises excellence in a published, single-authored short-story collection.
McGill was previously shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize in 2014 for her first collection, Sleepwalkers (Whittrick Press). She has also written two novels, The Butterfly Cabinet and The Watch House (both Tinder Press).
This year’s judging panel comprised agent Lucy Luck, last year’s winner Saba Sams, and Edge Hill University lecturer and short-story writer Andrea Ashworth.
The winner received her award at a ceremony at the London Review Bookshop in Bloomsbury. She said: “It’s such an honour to have won the Edge Hill Prize. I’ve been reading the winning collections for years. I’m a huge fan of the short story, as both a reader and as a writer. When working on the longer form gets challenging, I sneak off for a philander with the short form. I love the intensity of it, and I love the buzz of finishing one.”
Moreover, Will Clark, a student on the Edge Hill MA in Creative Writing, won the prize for best short story submitted by a student. Clark, who is now working on more short stories and a novel, said: “It means a lot to win the prize. It’s really nice to know that my work resonates with people.
“I like the short story because of the mystery about it. I like to leave my readers with questions once the story is over. There is also something about a story being short and sweet. Sometimes, that’s all you need.”
Naomi Booth, a writer and academic who lives in York, scooped the £1,000 Readers’ Choice Award for her story "Sour Hall", from her collection Animals at Night (Dead Ink Books). Booth said: “It’s always hard to know whether your work has connected with readers – so much of writing is working alone, trying to create a little spark, never knowing if it will catch – so it’s especially meaningful for me to know that my work [has].”
Founded in 2006, the Edge Hill Short Story Prize attracts entries from new and established writers. Professor of short fiction Ailsa Cox founded the award to highlight the "artisanship of short-story writing" and acknowledge the wealth of published collections available.
