Submissions open for 4thWrite short story prize

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The 4thWrite prize, an annual short story competition for Black, Asian and minority ethnic writers run by publisher 4th Estate and the Guardian, has opened for submissions.

The winner will receive £1,000, a one-day publishing workshop at 4th Estate and publication of their story on the Guardian website. The shortlisted stories will be published on the 4th Estate website. The prize is open to writers aged 18 and over living in the UK or Ireland.

This is the 10th year of the prize. Last year’s winner was Piyumi Kapugeekiyana for The Original Is Not Here. Several previous longlisted and shortlisted writers have gone on to publish books: Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour and Honey & Spice; Guy Gunaratne, author of In Our Mad and Furious City; Kasim Ali, author of Good Intentions; Gurnaik Johal, author of We Move; and Kit Fan, author of Diamond Hill.

Past winners include Yan F Zhang for Fleeting Marrow in 2024 and Yian Yi for The Good Son in 2023.

This year’s judging panel includes agent Emma Paterson of Aitken Alexander Associates, writer and journalist Chanté Joseph, novelists Sanam Mahloudji and Kamila Shamsie, 4th Estate publishing director Kishani Widyaratna and Guardian commissioning editor Ella Creamer. Johal, who was shortlisted for the prize in 2018, joins the panel this year as a guest judge to mark the anniversary.

Johal said being shortlisted for the prize began his writing career. “I remember feeling emboldened to take writing seriously when I entered my short story,” he said.

Shamsie described the award as “an effective spotlight” for emerging writers in the decade since it was launched, while Widyaratna called the prize “an essential part of the literary ecosystem”.

Joseph said: “I know firsthand how rare it is to see your story reflected in the publishing landscape, and how much will and motivation it takes to keep pushing when you’re a person of colour in this space. It is such an honour and a privilege to be judging the 4thWrite prize.”

The deadline for submissions is 19 June. The longlist will be announced by 31 August, the shortlist by 30 September and the winner in October at a ceremony in London.