Congratulations to Shastri Akella, winner of the 2025 Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize, for "The Border Ghosts", a ‘tender and haunting’ story of queer love on the Kashmir border that explores ... [Read More]
Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction
The de Groot Foundation is delighted to partner with The Desperate Literature Short Story Prize to support emerging writers.
Congratulations to this year's winner and runners-up!
2025:
Winner:
Runners-Up:
2024:
Winner:
Runners-Up:
Amanda Hildebrandt’s “No Safe Place”
Richie Jones’ “Nuggy Spins the Lemons”
2023:
Winner:
Hadley Franklin's "Falling"
Runners-Up:
N G F Clark’s "Damsons"
Andrea Mason‘s "Today, at the Dump, the World is in the Bin."
2022:
Winner:
Jay Gao's "The Baron and His Volcano"
Runners-Up:
Evan Martinak's "Signs and Cymbals"
Avigayl Sharp's "The Mouse's Bride"
2020:
Winner:
Angela Finn's "Excerpts from a Pale Blue Notebook with Silver Stars"
Runners-Up:
Jelle Cauwenberghs' "Bottles"
Jenah Shaw's "Goodness and the Tiger"
2019:
Winner:
Francesca Reece's "So Long Sarajevo / They Miss You So Badly"
Runners-Up:
Tom Benn's "Stuart Hall and Stuart Hall"
Shola Reinhold 's "The Arcadian"
2018:
Winner:
Ed Cottrell 's "Frailings"
Runners-Up:
Gordon Collins' "Notes on Beynon’s Veil"
Caitlin Ingham's "Blanch"
To learn more, go to desperateliterature.com/prize
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