Kennedy shortlisted for Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award for consecutive year

Louise Kennedy has made the six-strong shortlist for this year's Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award for the second year running.

The Irish writer was shortlisted last year for her debut short story collection, and this year she is in the running with "Sparing the Heather", a "tightly-woven story of betrayal and secrets and their impact on family lives".

The full shortlist also comprises Niamh Campbell's love story "Love Many, Simon" by Daniel O'Malley, Namwali Serpell's "Take It, Granma's Porch" by Alexia Tolas and "Teamwork" by Shawn Vestal.

The shortlist was chosen by a panel judges including David Nicholls, Carys Davies, Diana Evans and Romesh Gunesekera.

Davies said: "Each one of these outstanding stories took us on an intense and gripping journey into the human heart. With poise, precision, and a light-footed grace, they conjured worlds we believed in completely.

"From rural Ireland to the Caribbean, from small town to urban America, they opened doors into lives we cared about, in ways which moved and surprised us. It’s a tall order to achieve so much in so few words, and this shortlist bears powerful witness to the thrilling possibilities of the short story form."

The winner will receive £30,000 and the five other shortlisted writers £1,000 each. As sponsor of the 2020 award, Amazon-owned audio book company Audible will produce an anthology of the shortlisted stories, which will be available later in the year.

The prize was won last year by Danielle McLaughlin for "A Partial List of the Saved".