‘The short story, my father once wrote, is "exquisitely difficult". For the author, that is. All the same, I hope that many, many people will enter this competition in his memory. And if they want encouragement and inspiration they may find it in one of his own short stories. There are so many to choose from, but I would particularly recommend "The Evils of Spain", one of my favourites, from the very beginning of his amazingly long writing career, or the wonderful "Cocky Olly", written more than half a century later.’
— Oliver Pritchett

The prize commemorates an author who is widely regarded as the finest English short-story writer of the 20th century.

The VS Pritchett Memorial Prize is a prize of £1,000 for an unpublished short story. It is supported by Chatto & Windus, VS Pritchett’s publishers.

The 2008 Prize

The judges for the 2008 Prize are Tessa Hadley, Georgina Hammick and Jacob Ross. The winning entry will be published in The London Magazine.

Entrants wishing to know the result of the competition should enclose a stamped addressed envelope marked “Result”. The winner will be notified towards the end of May 2008.

To open or print the leaflet, the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software will be needed (available from the Adobe Website)