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The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award Shortlist Collection 2019
Diverse and moving, these six outstanding stories are meditations on grief and loss, love, communication and loneliness. Each one will take the reader on a brief yet unforgettable journey into private worlds and unexpected corners of the human heart.
The shortlisted stories have all been chosen for this year's Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award - the world's richest and most prestigious prize for a single short story, dubbed the 'equivalent of the Man Booker for the short story' by the Sydney Morning Herald.
The finalists of 2019 come from three continents, whose exceptional stories span such diverse territory as high end fashion, the Troubles, a disastrous poetry anthology cross-cultural romance and family secrets. But all are linked by their competence and artistry, through stylistic inventiveness, dark humour, intricacy, and a masterful formal control.
The shortlisted stories have all been chosen for this year's Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award - the world's richest and most prestigious prize for a single short story, dubbed the 'equivalent of the Man Booker for the short story' by the Sydney Morning Herald.
The finalists of 2019 come from three continents, whose exceptional stories span such diverse territory as high end fashion, the Troubles, a disastrous poetry anthology cross-cultural romance and family secrets. But all are linked by their competence and artistry, through stylistic inventiveness, dark humour, intricacy, and a masterful formal control.
Audible Audio
Published September 13, 2019
3 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Emma Cline
20 books4,553 followersEmma Cline is an American writer and novelist, originally from California. She published her first novel, "The Girls", in 2016, to positive reviews. The book was shortlisted for the John Leonard Award from the National Book Critics Circle and the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize.
Her stories have been published in The New Yorker, Tin House, Granta and The Paris Review.
In 2017 Cline was named one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists.
Her stories have been published in The New Yorker, Tin House, Granta and The Paris Review.
In 2017 Cline was named one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 22, 2020
Its an audio book and it was quite boring for me and i didn't like it as much
October 11, 2019
If it were up to me, I would’ve given the prize to Joe Dunthorne for “The poems contained within will mean everything to everyone”. I thought it was formally very original. Or, if similar things have been done, I think he really pulled it off. Simultaneously satirical and sincere, it took some jabs at the value system underpinning literary value, anthologizing, and writing competitions, while also managing to establish the protagonist’s dilemma in a way that was credible and sympathetic.
June 18, 2025
The opening of the story "The Coast of Leitrim" by Kevin Barry that you can listen to read by the author. It was one of the finalists for the 2019 Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award.
"Living alone in his dead uncle’s cottage, and with the burden lately of wandering thoughts in the night, Seamus Ferris had fallen hard for a Polish girl who worked at a café down in Carrick. He had himself almost convinced that the situation had the dimensions of a love affair, though in fact he’d exchanged no more than a few dozen words with her, whenever she named the price for his flat white and scone, and he shyly paid it, offering a line or two himself on the busyness of the town or the fineness of the weather."
There's a certain expected misery in most Irish fiction that I dread and love, the dread overcome by the almost inevitable lyrical--anguished, but lyrical--writing, and this is true of every experience I have reading Barry's prose. Seamus is a man who just may have--after three years of never connecting in any real way with a woman--met someone who can end his long loneliness. Oh, there's a hope as narrow as the very coast of Leitrim itself:
“The coast of Leitrim,” he said, “is four kilometres long. Which is in fact the shortest length of coast belonging to any county in Ireland.”
Later, after some encounters, all good, he begins to doubt he is worthy of the love he has: "And now the torment of his happiness was on his brow like bad fever." And it gets worse, and I do not want in any way to indiate a spoiler, but I just have to say this devastatingly insightful sentence, sorry: "He had refused happiness when it was presented to him in the haughty form that he had always craved. "
But there are surprises in this story of various kinds for which I am grateful, let me just say that. In the "form that [I] had always craved."
I'll listen to/read the other stories, but this one is golden. Read it and/or listen to it here:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
"Living alone in his dead uncle’s cottage, and with the burden lately of wandering thoughts in the night, Seamus Ferris had fallen hard for a Polish girl who worked at a café down in Carrick. He had himself almost convinced that the situation had the dimensions of a love affair, though in fact he’d exchanged no more than a few dozen words with her, whenever she named the price for his flat white and scone, and he shyly paid it, offering a line or two himself on the busyness of the town or the fineness of the weather."
There's a certain expected misery in most Irish fiction that I dread and love, the dread overcome by the almost inevitable lyrical--anguished, but lyrical--writing, and this is true of every experience I have reading Barry's prose. Seamus is a man who just may have--after three years of never connecting in any real way with a woman--met someone who can end his long loneliness. Oh, there's a hope as narrow as the very coast of Leitrim itself:
“The coast of Leitrim,” he said, “is four kilometres long. Which is in fact the shortest length of coast belonging to any county in Ireland.”
Later, after some encounters, all good, he begins to doubt he is worthy of the love he has: "And now the torment of his happiness was on his brow like bad fever." And it gets worse, and I do not want in any way to indiate a spoiler, but I just have to say this devastatingly insightful sentence, sorry: "He had refused happiness when it was presented to him in the haughty form that he had always craved. "
But there are surprises in this story of various kinds for which I am grateful, let me just say that. In the "form that [I] had always craved."
I'll listen to/read the other stories, but this one is golden. Read it and/or listen to it here:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
January 30, 2021
The jury was out on short stories for me, as I fluctuated between enjoying some and finding others very dissatisfying. For this reason, this collection really appealed to me and, like my past experience with the medium, it was definitely a mixed bag.
The single story that really made an impact was “In Silhouette” as I felt this managed to achieve the same emotion and effect as a full-length novel on the same subject would have. The nameless narrator is a teenager growing up in Northern Ireland when she witnesses her brother, Thady, engaging with an English soldier who disappears after. Thady eventually ends up in prison for a lesser crime, but his other fatal activities in The Troubles are never proved. On the day he eventually leaves prison, he is shot dead in revenge. Back in Ireland for the first time for many years for his funeral, our narrator encounters her brother’s friend who she always referred to as ‘Winky’. They embark on an affair driven by desire, guilt and complicity as it begins to emerge that perhaps both of them were responsible for authorities being aware of Thady’s crimes. This is a haunting and moving tale, sharing the complexity and tragedy of both sides of The Troubles.
Most of the other stories seemed somehow smaller than a traditional novel, not in the sense necessary of the themes or characters, but rather in the depth of feeling they were able to inspire in me. The stories depict a gambit of human nature - the father disappointed and estranged from his family, the lonely Irish man in search of love, the new father aspiring to create a poetry anthology and the fashion manager days away from meeting his designer idol. All-in-all an interesting and varied collection with one standout excellent story in my opinion.
The single story that really made an impact was “In Silhouette” as I felt this managed to achieve the same emotion and effect as a full-length novel on the same subject would have. The nameless narrator is a teenager growing up in Northern Ireland when she witnesses her brother, Thady, engaging with an English soldier who disappears after. Thady eventually ends up in prison for a lesser crime, but his other fatal activities in The Troubles are never proved. On the day he eventually leaves prison, he is shot dead in revenge. Back in Ireland for the first time for many years for his funeral, our narrator encounters her brother’s friend who she always referred to as ‘Winky’. They embark on an affair driven by desire, guilt and complicity as it begins to emerge that perhaps both of them were responsible for authorities being aware of Thady’s crimes. This is a haunting and moving tale, sharing the complexity and tragedy of both sides of The Troubles.
Most of the other stories seemed somehow smaller than a traditional novel, not in the sense necessary of the themes or characters, but rather in the depth of feeling they were able to inspire in me. The stories depict a gambit of human nature - the father disappointed and estranged from his family, the lonely Irish man in search of love, the new father aspiring to create a poetry anthology and the fashion manager days away from meeting his designer idol. All-in-all an interesting and varied collection with one standout excellent story in my opinion.
May 3, 2020
I sometimes read short stories when I want to read something that will not take long.....so I went through this series of short stories. I found I had to concentrate hard to keep track of each story or I got lost in the plot or just could not figure out what direction it was going in. Nevertheless, I did enjoy my time of escaping into each of the short stories.
October 7, 2020
Maybe these just went over my head but I didn't feel a strong sense of understanding or recognition for any of these stories. However, the narrations were good and provided a calm voice whilst I was out walking/running, which is what I was looking for, but the stories themselves I think were just not my thing.
March 2, 2020
An enjoyable collection of short stories.
March 31, 2020
Louise Kennedy's story was yhe stand out for me.
May 11, 2020
Disappointed.
August 7, 2020
Great short stories but I found it hard to listen rather than read them as you can't go back to check on bits. Stories were still really good though.
September 7, 2020
These are award winning stories? Definitely not an award I’m interested in reading again in the future. I didn’t like a single one, which is really saying something.
December 13, 2020
Absolutely loved them all apart from Sparing The Heather, that I really couldn't get into to. I was surprised by the winner as it wasn't my favourite but I think I can see why it did 🥰
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February 11, 2021If these are the best sellers, I shrug to even think what the others might have been like.
Such disappointment.
Such disappointment.
March 12, 2021
Couldn't identify with some of these, but loved All the Poems Contained Within Will Mean Everything to Everyone by Joe Dunthorne and The Coast of Leitrim by Kevin Barry.
February 3, 2020
I very much enjoyed the winning entry. The rest, notvso much.
January 29, 2020
I was a ‘long story reader’ only but recently I started reading and listening to short stories and I’m now beginning to enjoying them and understanding the different pleasure of a short story. This collection contains 5 stories very different from each other in terms of themes and writing style and I really enjoyed this diversity. I really can’t chose a favourite one, there are some qualities in each of theme. There are good stories (The Coast of Leitrim - A Partial List of the Saved), there is good narration (What can you do with a General), there is an amazing use of temporal levels (In Silhouette), there is fun with sorrow (Comme) and there is a metastory about the world of writers (All the poems...).
January 4, 2021
classy.
November 12, 2019
I'm not really one for short stories, but the diversity of material here makes for an interesting diversion.
January 7, 2020
I wonder how they pick these stories as the best short stories for 2019? I wish I could have read all the other stories to understand why these stories were picked.
March 19, 2021
An unhappy Christmas.
Merged review:
Various short stories.
Merged review:
Various short stories.
August 7, 2021
In Silhouette - Louise Kennedy 3*
The Coast Of Leitrim - Kevin Barry 3*
What Can You Do With A General - Emma Cline 3*
The Coast Of Leitrim - Kevin Barry 3*
What Can You Do With A General - Emma Cline 3*
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews