Books / bristol short story prize
Aotearoa New Zealand writer Zoë Meager wins 2025 Bristol Short Story Prize
Zoë Meager of Aotearoa New Zealand has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Bristol Short Story Prize.
Meager’s evocative story Things with bodies was selected from 1,800 entries by this year’s judging panel, Kate Johnson, Jan Carson and Peace Adzo Medie.
Praising its “clear, careful, nothing-wasted prose,” the judges also noted its “deep love” and representation of “unthinkable yet inevitable grief”.
is needed now More than ever
In second place, London-based S-L Santana’s story 1992 was selected, with Laura Morris winning third place for The Weight of a Man.
As ever, all three stories will be published in a new anthology by Tangent Books, alongside the other 12 that were shortlisted: Redfern Jon Barrett; Emma Challis; JR Fenn; Robyn Jefferson; Phoebe Hamilton Jones; Kerry Mead; Issie Roll; Louis Rossi; Jillian Grant Shoichet; Becky Tipper; Debra Waters and Anne Wilkins.
Cover for Bristol Short Story Prize 17th Anthology, 2025 (Tangent Books) – artwork: Emily Sneesbee
The eye-catching cover art has been created by illustrator and comic artist Emily Sneesbee, whose work was chosen from over 70 submissions from final year students on the UWE illustration degree course.
“The idea of combining Bristol’s iconic rainbow house dotted skyline and book spines clicked in my head pretty quickly”, she says.
“Every day, I get to see all the beautiful terraces houses in the distance from where I live up on a hill; the view is a constant part of my life here.
“I also often think about how every single one of those house’s has a story of its own, as if they were all books on a shelf, containing a whole anthology of different stories.”
The 17th BSSP Anthology, with cover design from Emily Sneesbee, is available direct from Tangent Books. Find out more about the competition at www.bristolprize.co.uk.
Main photo: Lyndsey Knight
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