List of BBC National Short Story Award winners

The BBC National Short Story Award (known as the National Short Story Award in 2006 and 2007) is an annual short story contest in the United Kingdom which is open to UK residents and nationals. It has been described as 'the most prestigious [award] for a single short story' and the richest prize in the world for a single short story. The award aims to increase interest in the short story genre, particularly British short stories. Each year, the winner receives GB£15,000 and four shortlisted writers receive GB£600 each.

It was founded in 2005 and announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival the same year. The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) were the main sponsor with support from BBC Radio 4 and Prospect magazine. Originally, winners received £15,000 while runners up received £3,000 and shortlisted writers £500 each. In 2008, the BBC became the main sponsor and the award was renamed from the 'National Short Story Award' to the 'BBC National Short Story Award'.

The BBC National Short Story Award has never had an all-male shortlist. In 2009, only women were featured on the shortlist. This happened for the second time in 2013 and the fifth time in 2018. Canadian writer D. W. Wilson became the youngest ever recipient of the award in 2011. Sarah Hall, who won the award in 2013 and 2020, is the only writer to have won the award twice.

In 2012, in honour of the 2012 Summer Olympics hosted in London, the competition was open to a global audience for one year only. Ten stories were shortlisted, instead of five, and Bulgarian writer Miroslav Penkov won.