The 2025 Booker Prize shortlist champions literary maturity over novelty, featuring established authors including previous winner Kiran Desai. These six novels explore identity uncertainty and family disruption, from Susan Choi’s multi-generational Flashlight to Katie Kitamura’s thought-provoking Audition. Though predominantly middle-age narratives, they’re anything but safe or comfortable reading.
The Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction offers writers worldwide a chance to win £2,000 for stories up to 250 words. Open from May to August 2025, the competition welcomes all genres and includes special awards for Scottish writers and quirky stories.
Mslexia has opened its Women’s Fiction Competition 2025, seeking short stories up to 3,000 words. The winner receives £3,000 and publication in December’s issue. Author Eley Williams will judge entries. Three finalists get £100 each. Deadline: 22 September. Entry fee: £12. Submit via mslexia.co.uk.
Writers can compete for £5,000 in prizes across four categories: Open Poetry, Short Story, Book for Children, and Young Poets. Submit your original, unpublished work by 30 June 2025. Prize winners receive professional recognition worth its weight in gold. Visit wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk for guidelines.
Anappara’s fiction is deeply rooted in the bustling, chaotic landscape of modern India, where gleaming shopping centres cast shadows over sprawling slums, and where children navigate between hope and despair with remarkable resilience. Her writing demonstrates a profound understanding of class dynamics, urban inequality, and the particular vulnerabilities of India’s most disadvantaged communities.
The Asian Review 