Cherise Saywell Wins the BBC National Short Story Award

Who won the 2026 BBC National Short Story Award? Cherise Saywell, an Edinburgh-based writer, for the story "Ditto." The University of Cambridge announced her win together with the BBC Young Writers' Award. The ceremony was on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at BBC Broadcasting House, and it was broadcast live on BBC Radio 4's Front Row. The Guardian reported the same evening that the prize, run with the University of Cambridge, is worth 15,000 pounds, and called the story tender and taut.

Cambridge describes "Ditto" as a story about a child's conflicting loyalties and a moment of bravery when violence erupts in his house. It is set in a small Australian town inspired by the place where Saywell grew up, and it explores masculinity, domestic abuse, and the effect on children. The Guardian adds the scene: a boy nicknamed Ditto, whose mother is threatened, finds the courage to use a public telephone box to call the police. The paper calls the town isolated.

What the judges said

Cambridge says the judges described the story as assured and beautifully crafted, and praised the way it handles a child's understanding of a complex adult world, citing precision and delicacy. Di Speirs, chair of the judging panel, told The Guardian: "Taut and beautifully crafted, tender and deeply rooted in one dusk evening and one small town, Saywell's story writing is assured and true and we are absolutely delighted that Ditto is this year's winner."

The Guardian names the rest of the panel sitting with Speirs: Saba Sams, who won the award in 2022; Tahmima Anam and Will Eaves, both former shortlisted writers; and Andrew Michael Hurley, winner of the Costa best first novel award.

Dr Yvonne Battle-Felton, academic director of creative writing at the University of Cambridge's Institute for Professional and Continuing Education, said: "Full of vivid descriptions, mounting tensions, and a compelling character, 'Ditto' is a moving reminder of how much life a short story can hold, and what's simmering beneath the surface. It really is beautifully told."

What Saywell said, and the books behind the story

Talking about the story, Saywell said: "I wanted to find a way to write about how children experience violence, when they have no words for the things they are experiencing....They feel love and fear and responsibility all at the same time, but have no name for what's happening around them."

The Guardian says she was born and raised in Australia and has lived in Scotland since 1996. She is the author of two novels, Desert Fish and Twitcher. Her short fiction has won the Pindrop short story award, the Mslexia short story prize, and the VS Pritchett prize. She has also been shortlisted for the Bristol prize and the Asham award. She works for the Royal Literary Fund.

Cambridge says a reading of "Ditto" by Richard Goulding is available on BBC Sounds. The Guardian says the five shortlisted stories appear in an anthology from Comma Press and can be heard on BBC Sounds.

The shortlist and the money

Saywell topped a shortlist that also included Caoilinn Hughes, Lucy Caldwell, Laura Beatty, and Merryn Glover. The Guardian calls that list all women. It identifies Caoilinn Hughes as an Irish writer, notes that Lucy Caldwell won this award in 2021, and describes Laura Beatty as a biographer and novelist. The winning author receives 15,000 pounds. Each shortlisted author receives 600 pounds. Cambridge says the award was established in 2006. Its headline calls this result the 21st BBC Short Story Awards with Cambridge University.

The Guardian lists earlier winners of the national prize: Sarah Hall, Jonathan Buckley, Lucy Caldwell, Ingrid Persaud, and Saba Sams. It says last year's award went to Colwill Brown for "You Cannot Thread a Moving Needle."

The Young Writers' Award

The same ceremony named the BBC Young Writers' Award with the University of Cambridge. Eloise Barrett, a 17-year-old sixth former from Birmingham, won for "Bloodshed in Rafah." Cambridge says the story follows a young girl living in a refugee camp in Gaza as she grieves the loss of her mother and experiences her first period. Judges described it as heartwrenching, original, and nuanced. Barrett drew on research into the experiences of women in conflict who lack access to period products. She is studying English Literature, History, and Sociology at A Level, with plans to study English at university, and she is working on an anthology of feminist short stories as well as a horror novel.

Battle-Felton said of that story: "A powerful example of how short stories can move the world. 'Bloodshed in Rafah' takes readers inside a geographical, psychological, emotional setting we may read about without seeing. It beautifully weaves love and loss with characters and scenes so gripping they will leave you breathless."

Cambridge says Barrett topped a shortlist that included Siddhi Garg, Solly Day-Stokoe, Tom Ixer, and Nathan Karby. Her story can be heard in the BBC Young Writers' Award Showcase 2026, read by Imi Hasna. The award is in its twelfth year, open to 14- to 18-year-olds across the UK, and was created to discover and inspire the next generation of writers. The Guardian calls "Bloodshed in Rafah" a heartwrenching story about a childhood affected by war.

The Cambridge partnership

Cambridge's partnership with the awards is supported by the Schools of Arts and Humanities and Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculties of English and Education, Downing and Robinson Colleges, Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the University of Cambridge's Institute for Professional and Continuing Education.

Why it matters for authors

The national prize pays 15,000 pounds for one short story and 600 pounds to each writer on a shortlist The Guardian describes as all women: Caoilinn Hughes, Lucy Caldwell, Laura Beatty, and Merryn Glover. Saywell, the winner, was born and raised in Australia, has lived in Scotland since 1996, and is the author of Desert Fish and Twitcher. "Ditto," read by Richard Goulding, is on BBC Sounds, and Comma Press is publishing the five stories. The Young Writers' Award, for 14- to 18-year-olds in the UK, went to 17-year-old Eloise Barrett for "Bloodshed in Rafah."

Sources

• University of Cambridge: Edinburgh writer and Birmingham student win 21st BBC Short Story Awards with Cambridge University (ceremony Tuesday, September 29, 2026)
• Emma Loffhagen, The Guardian: Cherise Saywell wins national short story award for 'tender' tale of a child facing violence (September 29, 2026)