Peter Carey Short Story Awards 2021 Longlist

The Peter Carey Short Story Award is thrilled to announce its longlist for 2021.

After receiving our highest number of stories yet in 2020, and the successful staging of an online awards ceremony during Victoria’s second Covid lockdown, we are delighted to report that 2021 has seen again another increase in the volume of entries. Opening for submissions in February, we received 336 stories from writers Australia-wide. It is both a fabulous testament to the influence of Peter Carey, and show of support for the short story award named in his honour, now in its fifth year.

The longlist of 13 stories and their writers, determined by longlisting judges Brooke Dunnell and Alex Cothren, is as follows:

Alison Gibbs - ‘Things To Do Before You Die’ 

Amanda Hildebrandt - ‘The Counterfeit Feast’ 

Cameron Stewart - ‘All Things Must Pass’ 

Catherine Hanrahan - ‘Ghost Babies’

Claire Aman - ‘The Wind Lifts You, It Takes You Forward’ 

Elisabeth Passmore - ‘Loyalty Program’ 

Gail Chrisfield - ‘Performance (Variation 2)’ 

Hollen Singleton - ‘Earth House’ 

Katerina Gibson - ‘Packing List For The Seasoned Traveller’ 

Laura Elvery - ‘Venice’ 

Rose Allan - ‘The Bear On The Beach’

Sally Bothroyd - ‘Lingering’ 

Sanchana Venkatesh - ‘Flatmates’ 

Judging for Best Local Entry is still underway, with the winner announced along with the first and second-placed stories in the general category on Saturday 12 June, in a special awards ceremony at the Lerderderg Library in Bacchus Marsh. Further details for this event will be announced with the release of the shortlist later in May.

We’d like to thank all the writers who submitted to this year’s award and wish the 13 finalists good luck. Our judge, Laurie Steed, has commenced his deliberation on the longlist. We remain so grateful to the Australian short-storytelling community for supporting our competition and trusting us with their work.

The 2021 Peter Carey Short Story Award Committee