The Story Prize, an annual award that has honoured a short story collection published in the United States with a $20,000 cash prize since 2004, has chosen its 2021/22 finalists from 119 titles published in 2021.
“By virtue of their skillful, bold, and distinctive storytelling, these three books stood out from the deepest pool of quality short story collections we’ve ever read,” said Larry Dark, the prize’s director, in a press release.
The winner of the prize will be announced in a live stream featuring readings by, and interviews with, the three finalists on 13 April 2022.
This year’s finalists are:
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King, which “is a wide-ranging collection of 10 skilful stories, each with the depth and resonance of a novel”.
Let Me Think by J. Robert Lennon “includes 71 meticulously crafted stories—some as short as a paragraph—with intricate thematic connections that weave their way through the collection”.
Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor “features 11 acutely observed and moving stories that incisively but tenderly explore messy emotional entanglements among a group of recurring characters”.
Words by Avantika Singh
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