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Athill, Donoghue on Sunday Times story longlist

20.02.12 | Charlotte Williams

A story told through the texts of two lovers is up against tales written by bestselling authors including Diana Athill, Lionel Shriver, Emma Donoghue and Toby Litt on the longlist for the £30,000 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award 2012.

Will Cohu's "Two Bad Thumbs" tells the story of a relationship through the texts of two lovers, and will be competing against 19 other stories on the longlist including "A Hopeless Case" by Diana Athill, "The Hunt" by Emma Donoghue, Toby Litt's "The Sandy" and "Prepositions" by Lionel Shriver. It is the third year in a row that Cohu has been longlisted.

The shortlist will be revealed on 4th March, with reading events happening at Waterstones Piccadilly on 27th, 28th and 29th March. This year, the shortlisted authors will each receive £1,000, doubling the prize money. Waterstones will also be publishing an anthology of the shortlisted works, which will be released online and in store from 5th March.

The judging panel includes novelist, screenwriter and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg; actor Ian Hart; writer Hanif Kureishi; novelist Joanna Trollope; and Sunday Times literary editor Andrew Holgate. Lord Matthew Evans, chairman of EFG Private Bank is the non-voting chair of judges. The winner will be announced on 30th March at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival.

Sunday Times magazine deputy editor Cathy Galvin, who created the award in 2010, said: "The future for the short story in print and digital formats has never been more robust."

The full longlist:

Diana Athill – "A Hopeless Case"
Kevin Barry – "Beer Trip to Llandudno"
Evgenia Citkowitz – "Business Class"
Will Cohu – "Two Bad Thumbs"
Emma Donoghue – "The Hunt"
Jackie Kay – "These Are Not My Clothes"
A L Kennedy – "Late in Life"
Jean Kwok – "Where the Gods Fly"
Barrie de Lara – "Dinner at Benutti"s"
Tom Lee – "The Current"
Toby Litt – "The Sandy"
Alison MacLeod – "The Heart of Denis Noble"
Martin Malone – "Valley of the Peacock Angel"
Robert Minhinnick – "El Aziz: Some Pages From His Notebooks"
Linda Oatman High – "Nickel Mines Hardware"
Alison Pimlott – "Five Year Diary"
Tamara Pollock – "Elsa" 
Alex Preston – "The Bridge Over Shuto Expressway No. 1"
Lionel Shriver – "Prepositions"
Johanna Skibsrud – "Fat Man and Little Boy"

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