JELLYFISH by Janice Galloway and THE NEED FOR BETTER REGULATION OF OUTER SPACE by Pippa Goldschmidt are among the short story collections longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. The list was announced yesterday and includes many Scottish and Irish authors and a number of prize-winning writers like Ali Smith, China Miéville, Kate Clanchy and Marina Warner .
The Edge Hill Prize is awarded annually by Edge Hill University for excellence in a published single-author short story collection. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Prize and Ailsa Cox, Professor of Short Fiction and organiser of the Short Story Prize shared her excitement for the event and for the strong longlist of established names competing alongside relative newcomers.
A shortlist of six authors will be announced in May, and the winner announced on 5th July. Judges are last year’s winner, Kirsty Gunn; Cathy Galvin, Director of The Word Factory; and Edge Hill Creative Writing Lecturer, Billy Cowan.
About JELLYFISH:
JELLYFISH is a collection of short stories, published in the UK by Freight Books. Three stories from the collection were broadcast by BBC Radio 4, and the book has already been longlisted for the Frank O’Connor Short Story Prize 2015.
Praise for JELLYFISH:
‘Foreboding floats through the fourteen tales … Reminiscent of Sylvia Plath in its black humour and visceral imagery … These deft short stories show why publishers should have more faith in the form … Exquisite similes and witty metaphors rise up and sting the senses like the eponymous jellyfish. With this electrifying volume Galloway proves herself a truly powerful writer who deserves to be much better known.’ – The Independent
‘An exquisite short-story collection … Previously very much a city writer, here the natural world encroaches on Galloway’s work from the title onwards, both indifferent and essential.’ – The Guardian
'This is a short story collection to savour, by one of the foremost Scottish writers of her generation.' – Irish Times
About THE NEED FOR BETTER REGULATION OF OUTER SPACE:
In THE NEED FOR BETTER REGULATION OF OUTER SPACE, Pippa Goldschmidt brings together an outstanding collection of short stories on the theme of science and its impact on all our lives.
Praise for THE NEED FOR BETTER REGULATION OF OUTER SPACE:
'Definitions: 'scientist' – human being who wonders, tries, gets things wrong; 'science' – curiosity, wrapped in strange language and with odd-looking equipment; 'story' – what if, and then, and then. Pippa Goldschmidt mixes all of the above and the resulting compounds are sweet, funny, spicy, provocative, moving. Your universe will be expanded. It doesn't get any better than that.' – Tania Hershman, author of MY MOTHER WAS AN UPRIGHT PIANO
'These stories, written with deep empathy and a bittersweet humour, open up a world where literature often fears to tread. Science is a tool for understanding the universe, but in Pippa Goldschmidt’s hands it is also a metaphor through which we can better understand ourselves. She is a writer of great heart and talent.' – Iain Maloney, author of FIRST TIME SOLO and SILMA HILL
'Sharply imagined stories that glitter like a constellation: funny, sexy and moving by turns. There is a haunting, planetary loneliness at the heart of many of these tales, but they're told with energy, wit and unflagging inventiveness.' – Wayne Price, author of FURNACE and MERCY SEAT
'Pippa Goldschmidt is busy defining an entirely new kind of "science" fiction. These stories – all of which are superb exercises in tone and concision – are urgent dispatches from a territory almost completely ignored by contemporary authors – elegant fables that inhabit the intersection of science, culture, humanity, and which are thoroughly informed by a sharp understanding of both the secret histories and hidden processes of actual science.' – Alastair Reynolds, author or REVELATION SPACE and POSEIDON’S CHILDREN
Follow Pippa on Twitter: @goldipipschmidt
