Best British Short Stories 2021

Synopsis

The nation’s favourite annual guide to the short story, now in its eleventh year.

Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or, more accurately, by its title. This critically acclaimed series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor’s brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the best of the bunch to reprint all in one volume.

This new anthology includes stories by Julia Armfield, A.J. Ashworth, Iphgenia Baal, Emma Bolland, Tom Bromley, Gary Budden, Jen Calleja, Robert Dewa, John Foxx, Josephine Galvin, Uschi Gatward, Meave Haughey, Hilaire, Alice Jolly, Isha Karki, Yasmine Lever, Simon Okotie, Mel Pryor, Douglas Thompson and Matthew Turner.

Praise for Previous Work

‘Best British Short Stories 2019 is a dazzling and captivating collection that needs to be read!’ —Ross Jeffery, Storgy

‘In the Best British Stories 2017, a sense of loss, isolation and loneliness surfaces time and again; is given artistic expression. There is no such thing as “the best” – declaring the same merely sets oneself up to be bettered – this collection though, will take some real beating.’ —Tamim Sadikali, Bookmunch

‘If the latest iteration of Salt’s Best British Short Stories collection is anything to go by then the genre remains in safe hands.’ —Lawrence Foley, TLS