O’Connell to chair BBC National Short Story Award

Paddy O’Connell, host of Radio 4’s “Broadcasting House”, will chair the judging panel for this year’s BBC National Short Story Awards (NSSA), while BBC Presenter Katie Thistleton will be returning for her seventh year as the chair of the BBC Young Writers Award (YWA).

The NSSA is one of the most prestigious awards for a single short story and the winner will receive £15,000 while the four shortlisted authors win £600 each. The stories are also broadcast on Radio 4, available to listen to on BBC Sounds and published in an anthology by Comma Press.

The 2023 winner of the NSSA was Naomi Wood for her story “Comorbidities”, a piece from her forthcoming debut collection This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Phoenix).

O’Connell said: “I was saved from reader’s block by short stories. I still favour a slim volume over a massive tome, and I know this makes me the perfect reader for this award. Zadie Smith and David Sedaris saved me in the pandemic and I send Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader to everyone in need of a lift. To be named a judge is a delight and a privilege as I have never knowingly won any award myself. I can only offer myself as an impartial and flawed reader but will be in the company of fellow judges who can educate me as well as inspire me.”

Both awards open for submissions today (10th January). The deadline for the BBC National Short Story Award is 9 a.m. (GMT) 18th March 2024 and the deadline for the BBC Young Writers Award is 9 a.m. (GMT) 25th March 2024.