Here are the shortlisted and winning stories in the 2024 Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition.
The 2024 HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition shortlist
Three short stories are shortlisted for this year’s competition:
Mother’s Fury by Laura Karim
Our judges called this story “a taught slice of violence and revenge at the climax of the peasant’s revolt in 14th century England”.
Bonfire Night by Muiread O’Hanlon
“A fresh and convincing voice of boyhood adventure in Ireland. Vivid and compelling.”
Nebraska by Cath Staincliffe
“Richly imagined story of frontier adventure and resilience.”
Highly commended
In addition, two shortlisted stories are highly commended:
After Jutland, 1916 by Liz Kershaw
“A touching and assured story of motherhood and family as a widow struggles to raise her three boys after losing her husband. A tale of ordinary heroism done with a light touch.”
No Competition by Elaine O’Connor
“A gentle tale of triumph, full of quiet pride. A teacher gives a memorable student her moment and changes her life.”
The winner of the 2024 HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition
And the winner of the 2024 HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition is:
St Kilda Bird Song by KF MacCarthy
“A magical and immersive story of a late 19th-century teacher on the remote island, told from diverse perspectives with fluency and confidence. A very special piece of writing about a remarkable place.”
Congratulations to the winner and to all the shortlisted authors! They’re all invited to the HWA awards ceremony on 20 November, 2024, where they’ll receive their prizes.
We’ll publish all six of these short stories as an anthology later in the year, in time for the awards celebration in November. St Kilda Bird Song has been published here in Historia and in the Dorothy Dunnett Society magazine, Whispering Gallery.
Many thanks to our judges, who worked hard to choose 25 longlisted entries and then select only six for this year’s shortlist and winner.
HWA Chair Imogen Robertson says: “Thank you so much to all the writers who submitted stories this year. As always the standard was very high, and the judges were deeply impressed by the range of periods, places and people brought to life by the entrants. We read adventure, romance, mystery and enjoyed delicate portraits of forgotten characters.
“We are delighted with the range of voices in the final six, and the variety of stories we can offer to readers this year. Each is a testament to the rude health of historical fiction, and the endless inspiration that writers can find by journeying into the past.”
See the longlisted stories in this year’s competition.
Read the winning story, St Kilda Bird Song by KF MacCarthy.
Past winners of the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Prize:
2023: Hecate’s Daughter by Jo Tiddy
2022: Collapse by Chrissy Sturt
2021: His Mother’s Quilt by Naomi Kelsey
2020: The Race by Alice Fowler
2019: The Daisy Fisher by Kate Jewell
2018: Nineteen Above Discovery by Jennifer Falkner
2017: A Poppy Against the Sky by Annie Whitehead
