Manchester Fiction Prize shortlist announced

MLF and the Manchester Writing School at MMU are pleased to announce the shortlist for the international Manchester Fiction Prize for best new short story. The winner, who receives £10,000, will be announced at a special gala event at Chetham's on Friday: for more details, click here. The evening will feature readings from seven of the eight shortlisted entrants along with stories by the judges – John Burnside, Alison MacLeod and Nicholas Royle.

A record 1,863 entries were received from around the globe, and the judges spent three months whittling them down to 40 commended stories, and then the final eight. Judging involved intensive and meticulous reading, re-reading and discussion, but the judges were thrilled with the overall standard.

So, in alphabetical order by surname, the Manchester Fiction Prize 2011 shortlist:

Krishan Coupland, from Southampton, UK, with Days Necrotic

Nicole Cullen, from Wisconsin, USA, with Flathead Lake

Garret Freymann-Weyr, from North Carolina, USA, with The Ugly Duckling

Richard Hirst, from Preston, UK, with School Report

Silvia Moreno-Garcia, from Vancouver, Canada, with The Doppelgangers

Alex Preston, from London, UK, with The Swimmer in the Desert

Bethany Rogers, from Gateshead, UK, with The Cuckoo

Judith Turner-Yamamoto, from Ohio, USA, with A Mercy