ALCS & RSL announce V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize winner

Tom Vowler wins £1,000 for his unpublished short story

LONDON, Feb. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Royal Society of Literature is delighted to announce the winner of the V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize. The prize, worth £1,000, is an annual award for unpublished short stories between 2,000 to 4,000 words in length.

From the shortlist of seven writers announced last week, this year's judges Julia Armfield, Fred D'Aguiar and Juliet Jacques selected Tom Vowler's story 'Voyagers'. As well as the prize money, Tom wins publication of his story in Prospect magazine online and in the RSL's Review.

Tom was presented with the prize at the ALCS Annual Awards ceremony in London on 22 February. This is the first time the prize has been presented as part of the ALCS Awards.

Julia Armfield: "'Voyagers' is clean and balanced, combining science and romance with flair and intelligence."

Fred D'Aguiar: "This is storytelling with real intrigue and knowingness that makes compelling reading. The character is in the prose voice rather than descriptive fleshing-out, with the merest biographical skeleton to hang action and events onto. There are several gems, the best of which is: 'the brain is the only organ to have named itself.'"

Juliet Jacques: "'Voyagers' is beautifully crafted, a sublime mix of romantic tension and studies of the cosmos."

Tom Vowler is an award-winning author living in the UK. A university lecturer with a PhD in creative writing, his work has featured on BBC radio and been translated into multiple languages. His forthcoming sixth book is a collection of flash fiction, and he's also currently working on a memoir.

The RSL is grateful to the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) for supporting this Prize for over a decade. The RSL is also grateful to Prospect for publishing the winning story online.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Founded in 1820, the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is the UK's charity for the advancement of literature. We act as a voice for the value of literature, engage people in great literature, and encourage and honour writers at all stages of their careers.

The RSL's awards and prizes celebrate the value of writing in all its forms, whilst supporting emerging and established writers at some of the most challenging moments of their careers.

The V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize was founded by the RSL in 1999 to commemorate the centenary of an author widely regarded as the finest English short story writer of the 20th century. The Prize seeks to preserve a tradition encompassing Pritchett's mastery of narrative. Stories are judged anonymously by a panel of writers. Previous winners have included Kaliane Bradley, Leoor Ohayon, Emily Ruth Ford, Jonathan Tel, Martina Devlin and Carys Davies.

The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) is a not-for-profit organisation started by writers for the benefit of all types of writers. Owned by its members, ALCS collects money due for secondary uses of writers' work. It is designed to support authors and their creativity; ensure they receive fair payment and see their rights are respected. It promotes and teaches the principles of copyright and campaigns for a fair deal. It represents over 120,000 members, and since 1977 has paid over £650million to writers. alcs.co.uk

•  Headshot of the winner can be found here

•  Judges' photos can be found here.