Ski instructor beats leading authors to Sunday Times short-story prize shortlist

Rebecca F John is in the running with Yiyun Li and four others for world’s richest prize for a single story

Rebecca F John, a 28-year-old Welsh ski instructor who is training to be a teacher, has made it on to the shortlist for the Sunday Times’ £30,000 short story prize ahead of major names such as Mark Haddon, David Peace and Joseph O’Neill.

John’s story, The Glove Maker’s Numbers, tells of a woman who is institutionalised when she is unable to cope after the death of her brother. It made the lineup for the Sunday Times EFG short story award – the world’s richest prize for a single short story – alongside works by five critically acclaimed writers, including Yiyun Li, whose A Sheltered Woman follows a Chinese-American nanny helping out a new mother and her baby, and Elizabeth McCracken, whose Hungry features a grandmother intent on fattening up her granddaughter.

Continue reading...