I am delighted to have won third prize in the 2021 Bedford Short Story Competiton.

The competition had a record number of entries, and was judged by Patrick McGuinness, a Booker-prize long-listee, making my success particularly rewarding.

Interestingly, I was third in the same award in 2019, but for a very different style of work.

My story, ‘A Gradual Thing’, is available to read on the Bedford website, and will be published in an anthology in due course.

Thank you to the organizers and judges, and congratulations to all the other successful entrants.