The BBC National Short Story Award 2021

A group of teenage boys take turns assessing each other' s changing bodies before a Friday night disco. A grieving woman strikes up an unlikely friendship with a fellow traveller on a night train to Kiev. An unusually well-informed naturalist is eyed with suspicion by his comrades on a forest exhibition with a higher purpose. The stories shortlisted for the 2021 BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University take place in liminal spaces - their characters find themselves in transit, travelling along flight paths, train lines and roads, or in moments where new opportunities or directions suddenly seem possible. From the reflections of a new mother flying home after a funeral, to an ailing son' s reluctance to return to the village of his childhood, these stories celebrate small kindnesses in times of turbulence, and demonstrate a connection between one another that we might sometimes take for granted. The BBC NSSA is one of the most prestigious prizes for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £ 15,000, and four further shortlisted authors £ 600 each.