BBC National Short Story Award 2024 shortlisting for Black Isle author Vee Walker
A BLACK ISLE writer has declared herself “very pleased” to be shortlisted for a BBC short story award with a top prize of £15,000.
Former museums and heritage consultant, Vee Walker, who lives on the Black Isle, has made it to the final five of the BBC National Short Story Award 2024 with Cambridge University, coming up against some long-established big names in the literary world.
Her story, Nice Dog, described as “a highly original and funny detective story narrated by a chihuahua”, will be read at 3.30pm on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday (September 19) by actor and to an award announcement on October 1.
The story will also be available to listen to on BBC Sounds.
The shortlist was announced on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.
Read also
Highland duo launch canny edit agency to help authors
Black Isle author has write stuff to win Hugh Miller competition
A pre-recorded interview with Kirsty Wark will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Front Row from 7.15pm tonight.
The ‘heart-stopping’ shortlist, featuring literary masters and blistering new talent was praised for its ‘life-enhancing’ ambition, originality and wordplay.
The five-strong shortlist includes three time nominee and 2021 BBC National Short Story Award winner Lucy Caldwell; Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2005, and Granta Best of Young British Novelist 2013 Ross Raisin; memoirist, novelist and short story writer Will Boast; and new names, finance lawyer Manish Chauhan and Vee.
Set in locations across the globe; from Nice to Sicily, from the Midlands to New York, and written by writers from every corner of the British Isles, the stories centre ‘compassion and understanding’ with a ‘collision of cultures’, generations, and communities reflecting the realities and universal truths of life in the 21st century.
The stories were variously inspired by the ‘dark kitchens’ of the gig economy; Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the ‘Choose Your Own Ending’ books; a chance encounter with a chihuahua in Nice; a refugee camp in Sicily and a desire to explore love and acceptance in the face of uncompromising faith.
The BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University 2024 shortlist is:
‘The Barber of Erice’ by Will Boast
‘Hamlet, a love story’ by Lucy Caldwell
‘Pieces’ by Manish Chauhan
‘Ghost Kitchen’ by Ross Raisin
‘Nice Dog’ by Vee Walker
The BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000 and four further shortlisted authors £600 each.
The 2023 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Naomi Wood who won for Comorbidities, a story examining the difficulty of maintaining love and intimacy in a marriage, from her debut collection, This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.
Vee, author of the acclaimed Major Tom, said: “It’s been a tough two months of saying nothing after signing a non-disclosure agreement.”
She described herself as “very pleased” to be shortlisted.
Fortrose-based Vee wrote her first short story, age eight, while at primary school in the Highlands. Her shortlisted story was nspired by a chat with the owner of a chihuahua while on holiday in the south of France. She discovered the greenery surrounding them had been planted to keep the local drug-dealers at bay and her story about a dog, a clash of generations and culture, and the love and acceptance to be found in community, was born.
The five stories will be broadcast in turn at 3.30pm on Monday 16 – Friday 20 September on Radio 4 and available to listen to on BBC Sounds.
This year’s judging panel is led by Radio and TV presenter Paddy O’Connell, host of Radio 4’s Broadcasting
House and co-host of the weekend edition of the BBC’s popular Newscast podcast. He is joined by novelist and critic, Michael Donkor; memoirist, novelist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo; former BBC NSSA shortlisted writer and Professor of Writing at Lancaster University, Jenn Ashworth; and returning judge, Di Speirs MBE, Books Editor at BBC Audio.
The winner will be announced on October 1 on Front Row.
