All female shortlist announced for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013

The shortlist for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013 has been announced on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.
For the second time in the eight-year history of the Award, the five stories on the shortlist are all written by women, a great example of how female writers are leading the field with innovative and compelling work.
The shortlist features well-established writers including: Lionel Shriver, Orange Prize-winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin; Sarah Hall, one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists 2013 and an acclaimed short story writer; and Lavina Greenlaw, poet, novelist and Professor of Poetry at the University of East Anglia. There are also two newer names on the list: Lucy Wood, debut author of short story collection Diving Belles and Lisa Blower, winner of The Guardian's National Short Story Competition in 2009.
This year's shortlist is:

· 'Barmouth' by Lisa Blower

· 'We Are Watching Something Terrible Happening' by Lavinia Greenlaw

· 'Mrs Fox' by Sarah Hall

· 'Notes from the House Spirits' by Lucy Wood

· 'Prepositions' by Lionel Shriver

Healing the State of Man by Sarah Lewis was also given a special mention by this year's judges.

Mariella Frostrup, Chair of Judges, commented: “The 2013 shortlist is all female, which suggests the short story is a form much suited to the innovative brilliance of women writers. From Charlotte Perkins Gilman - author of the enormously influential The Yellow Wallpaper - onwards, many favoured short story writers are women. Now we have five new names to add to the list of skilled exponents.
“We were delighted this year to be able to zoom in on the contemporary world and to compile a shortlist that is rich in imagination and diverse in style. In each of these original tales we enter a world that is at once familiar and yet surprising, each offering a unique and often startling view of society today."Five top UK actors, including Hattie Morahan, Claire Skinner and Andrea Riseborough, will each read one of the shortlisted stories, broadcast daily on BBC Radio 4 at 3.30pm from Monday 23 September. Each story will also be available as a free download from the day of broadcast for two weeks at www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/nssa.