The BBC National Short Story Award 2021

A group of teenage boys take turns assessing each others changing bodies before a Friday night disco A grieving woman strikes up an unlikely friendship with a fellow traveller on a night train to Kiev An unusually well-informed naturalist is eyed with suspicion by his comrades on a forest exhibition with a higher purpose The stories shortlisted for the 2021 BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University take place in liminal spaces their characters find themselves in transit, travelling along flight paths, train lines and roads, or in moments where new opportunities or directions suddenly seem possible. From the reflections of a new mother flying home after a funeral, to an ailing sons reluctance to return to the village of his childhood, these stories celebrate small kindnesses in times of turbulence, and demonstrate a connection between one another that we might sometimes take for granted. The BBC NSSA is one of the most prestigious prizes for a single short story, with the winning author receiving 15,000, and four further shortlisted authors 600 each. James Runcie is joined on the judging panel by a group of acclaimed writers and critics including: Booker Prize shortlisted novelist Fiona Mozley; award winning writer, poet and winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize, Derek Owusu; multi-award winning Irish novelist and short story writer, Donal Ryan; and returning judge, Di Speirs, Books Editor at BBC Radio.