The Story Prize

The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first published in the United States during a calendar year. The founder of the prize is Julie Lindsey, and the director is Larry Dark. He was previously series editor for the annual short story anthology Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards from 1997 to 2002.

Publishers, authors, or agents may enter a short story collection written in English by a living author and published in the U.S. during a calendar year. Three finalists are announced in January. These authors participate in an award event, typically in March, at which they read from their work and have an on-stage discussion with Dark. At the end of the event, Julie Lindsey announces the winner, who, in addition to the prize money, receives an engraved silver bowl. From 2006-2020 the event was at the New School in New York City (co-sponsored with the Creative Writing Department). In 2021, the event was recorded via Zoom, and it has since been held at The Lotos Club.

In March 2019, Catapult published The Story Prize: 15 Years of Great Short Fiction, an anthology celebrating the award's fifteenth anniversary.

The Story Prize Spotlight Award
This $1,000 award is given to a short story collection of exceptional merit, as selected by the Director of the Story Prize, from among all entrants. Winners of The Story Prize Spotlight Award might be promising works by first-time authors, collections in alternative formats, or works that demonstrate an unusual perspective on the writers’ craft.


 * 2012: Krys Lee, Drifting House
 * 2013: Ben Stroud, Byzantium
 * 2014: Kyle Minor, Praying Drunk
 * 2015: Adrian Tomine, Killing and Dying
 * 2016: Randa Jarrar, Him, Me, Muhammad Ali
 * 2017: Lee Conell, Subcortical
 * 2018: Akil Kumarasamy, Half Gods
 * 2019: Ayşe Papatya Bucak, The Trojan War Museum
 * 2020: Asako Serizawa, Inheritors
 * 2021: Adam Thompson, Born into This
 * 2022: Arinze Ifeakandu, God's Children Are Little Broken Things
 * 2023: SJ Sindu, The Goth House Experiment