Will Eaves & Jenni Fagan 
BBC National Short Story Award 2017 [PDF ebook] 

The stories shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award with Book Trust 2017 all feature characters that are disconnected, willingly or unwillingly, from those around them: a mysterious out-of-towner is shunned by her new colleagues; a grieving husband retreats into his old compulsion for hoarding; a promising academic risks his career for a casual liaison with a younger man. And whether we follow the characters need to be alone – like the fisherman drifting dangerously far from shore – or trace it back to its root – like the daughter burying her violent father – what we find there is always unexpected. This year’s shortlist was selected by authors Eimear Mc Bride, Jon Mc Gregor and Sunjeev Sahota, as well as BBC Radio s Di Speirs and acclaimed novelist Joanna Trollope who chaired the panel and introduces the collection.