The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first published in the United States during a calendar year. The founder of the prize is Julie Lindsey, and the director is Larry Dark. He was previously series editor for the annual short story anthology Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards from 1997 to 2002.
The Story Prize generally receives as entries 100 to 120 short story collections each year. The Director and Founder together choose the three finalists. Three independent judges choose the winner from among those books. The judging group has a different composition every year and consists of a mix of writers, booksellers, readers, critics, teachers, publishers, and editors. One judge is always a fiction writer, a second judge is either a bookseller or librarian in alternating years, and the third is generally a critic or editor or someone else associated with the short story.
Publishers, authors, or agents may enter a short story collection written in English by a living author and published in the U.S. during a calendar year. Three finalists are announced in January. These authors participate in an award event, typically in March, at which they read from their work and have an on-stage discussion with Dark. At the end of the event, Julie Lindsey announces the winner, who, in addition to the prize money, receives an engraved silver bowl. From 2006 to 2020 the event was at the New School in New York City (co-sponsored with the Creative Writing Department). In 2021, the event was recorded via Zoom, and it has since been held at The Lotos Club.
In March 2019, Catapult published The Story Prize: 15 Years of Great Short Fiction, an anthology celebrating the award's fifteenth anniversary.
Recipients
+Story Prize winners and finalistsYearAuthorTitleResult2004The Dew BreakerWinnerThe Circus in WinterFinalistIdeas of Heaven2005The Hill RoadWinnerThe Summer He Didn't DieFinalistMothers and Other Monsters2006The Stories of Mary GordonWinnerThe Lives of RocksFinalistIn Persuasion Nation2007Like You'd Understand, AnywayWinnerSunstroke and Other StoriesFinalistBloodletting & Miraculous Cures2008Our Story BeginsWinnerUnaccustomed EarthFinalistDemons in the Spring2009In Other Rooms, Other WondersWinnerDrift FinalistEverything Ravaged, Everything Burned2010Memory WallWinnerGold Boy, Emerald GirlFinalistDeath Is Not an Option2011We OthersWinnerThe Angel EsmeraldaFinalistBinocular Vision2012BattlebornWinnerStay AwakeFinalistThis Is How You Lose Her2013Tenth of DecemberWinner"George Saunders Wins His First Book Award, The Story Prize, for Tenth of December" , Larry Dark, official TSP Blog, March 5, 2014ArchangelFinalistBobcat2014ThunderstruckWinnerThe Other LanguageFinalistBark2015Fortune SmilesWinnerThere’s Something I Want You to DoFinalistThirteen Ways of Looking2016For a Little WhileWinnerGoodnight, Beautiful WomenFinalistThey Were Like Family to Me (published in hardcover as In the Land of Armadillos)2017Anything Is PossibleWinnerThe King Is Always Above the PeopleFinalistHomesick for Another World2018FloridaWinnerA Lucky ManFinalistYour Duck Is My Duck2019Everything InsideWinnerSabrina & CorinaFinalistGrand Union2020The Secret Lives of Church LadiesWinnerLikesFinalistThe Office of Historical Corrections2021Filthy AnimalsWinnerFive Tuesdays in Winter FinalistLet Me Think2022Bliss MontageWinnerNatural History FinalistNight of the Living Rez2024The Hive and the HoneyWinnerWednesday's Child FinalistOther Minds and Other Stories2025Highway 13WinnerThere Is a Rio Grande in Heaven FinalistGhost Pains2026Other WorldsWinnerAtavists FinalistLong Distance
The Story Prize Spotlight Award
This $1,000 award is given to a short story collection of exceptional merit, as selected by the Director of the Story Prize, from among all entrants. Winners of The Story Prize Spotlight Award might be promising works by first-time authors, collections in alternative formats, or works that demonstrate an unusual perspective on the writers’ craft.
Year Winner Work Ref. 2012 Krys Lee Drifting House 2013 Ben Stroud Byzantium 2014 Kyle Minor Praying Drunk 2015 Adrian Tomine Killing and Dying 2016 Randa Jarrar Him, Me, Muhammad Ali 2017 Lee Conell Subcortical 2018 Akil Kumarasamy Half Gods 2019 Ayşe Papatya Bucak The Trojan War Museum 2020 Asako Serizawa Inheritors 2021 Adam Thompson Born into This 2022 Arinze Ifeakandu God's Children Are Little Broken Things 2023 SJ Sindu The Goth House Experiment 2024 Ben Shattuck The History of Sound 2025 John Haskell Trying to Be
References
External links The Story Prize web site TSP: The Official Blog of The Story Prize
Webcast of 2013 event Webcast of 2014 event Webcast of 2015 event Webcast of 2016 event Webcast of 2017 event Webcast of 2018 event Webcast of 2019 event Webcast of 2020 event 2021 video The Story Prize 2021/22 Event and Winner Announcement The Story Prize 2022/23 Event and Winner Announcement