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Jane Coneybeer wins 2024 Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize
Jane "Connie" Coneybeer has won the 2024 Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize, taking home £1,000 for Menagerie.
Second prize (£500) went to Un by Louie Conway and third prize (£250) went to The Birth of a Devil Sheep by David McGrath. The three prize winners were announced at an event in Brick Lane Bookshop on Friday 15th November.
The three winners, alongside nine other selected stories, have been published in an anthology – the sixth the shop has produced. The 12 selected stories were chosen from 1,000 entries to the prize, from writers including Sean Bell, Danny Beusch, Rosie Chen, Karrish Devan, Karishma Jobanputra, Sharmaine Lim, Ali Roberts, Laura Surynt and Sukie Wilson
The stories feature metamorphoses, ubiquitous eating, a flooded world, OnlyFans, a philatelist, institutional care, a rural yarn, new motherhood, a teenage logophile, cautionary Americana, abstracted babysitting and a Green Man.
Dan Bird, editor at Granta and a judge, said: "These stories are alive, conjuring distinct and refreshing worlds. They’re unexpected and inventive, and wonderfully demonstrate just how capacious the short story form can be.
The prize winners will also receive feedback from BLBS’ partner Spread the Word, and four of the stories in the anthology will be republished by our partners Scratch Books, The London Magazine and Prototype Publishing."
Fellow judge Lucy Luck from C&A Agency added: "It was a pleasure to be introduced to these 12 new voices. Each story surprised, entertained and moved me in unpredictable ways and each writer brought a finesse and a sense of adventure to the story form which was fascinating to experience."
The anthology is available from Brick Lane Bookshop and, via Turnaround, from other indie bookshops.
The Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize was launched in 2019 and is funded by Brick Lane Bookshop. The competition is open to all UK residents and "seeks to discover, publish and promote new, exciting and diverse voices in fiction".
