2007 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize Longlist

THE LONGLIST for the 2007 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize has been announced. The shortlist will be announced on July 21, 2007, and the award will be presented at the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Festival in Cork, Ireland, in September 2007. In 2006, the prize went to Haruki Murakami’s Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (2006) and in 2005, Yiyun Li received the inaugural prize for her début collection of short stories, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2005).

1. There Are Little Kingdoms (The Stinging Fly, Ireland) / Kevin Barry (Ireland)
2. Until a Shrimp Learns to Whistle (Ginninderra Press, Australia) / T.M. Collins (Australia)
3. The Colours of Man and Other Stories (Arlen House, Ireland) / Micheál Ó Conghaile (Ireland)
4. The Gradual Gathering of Lust (Canongate, U.K.) / Toni Davidson (U.K.)
5. Our Former Lives in Art (Random House, U.S.) / Jennifer S. Davis (U.S.)
6. The Heather Fields and Other Stories (Blackstaff Press, Northern Ireland) / John F. Deane (Ireland)
7. Diamonds in the Mud (Macmillan, Australia) / Joy Dettman (Australia)
8. Family Connections (Salt Publishing, U.K.) / Chrissie Gittins (U.K.)
9. The Stories of Mary Gordon (Pantheon Books, U.S.) / Mary Gordon (U.S.)
10. And Other Stories (Northwestern University Press, U.S.) / Georgi Gospodinov (Bulgaria)
11. Too Much, Too Soon (Pandanus Books, Australia) / Stephanie Green (Australia)
12. Opportunity (Random House, New Zealand) / Charlotte Grimshaw (New Zealand)
13. Sunstroke (Jonathan Cape, U.K.) / Tessa Hadley (U.K.)
14. No One Belongs Here More Than You (Canongate, U.K.) / Miranda July (U.S.)
15. A Fragile Hope (Salt Publishing, U.K.) / Ken N. Kamoche (Kenya)
16. Walk the Blue Fields (Faber & Faber, U.K.) / Claire Keegan (Ireland)
17. Missing Kissinger (Chatto & Windus, 2007) / Etgar Keret (Israel) (trans. from the Hebrew by Miriam Schlesinger and Sondra Silverston)
18. Red Spikes (Allen & Unwin, Australia) / Margo Lanagan (Australia)
19. The Moose Show (Salt Publishing, U.K.) / Matthew Licht (U.S.)
20. A House of Cards (Pillar Press, Ireland) / Elizabeth MacDonald (Ireland)
21. Every Move You Make (Chatto & Windus, U.K.) / David Malouf (Australia)
22. At Home with Miss Vanesa (Tindal Street Press, U.K.) / E.A. Markham (Montserrat)
23. Astral Bodies (Salt Publishing, U.K.) / Jay Merill (U.K.)
24. The Weight of Feathers (Arlen House, Ireland) / Geraldine Mills (Ireland)
25. Permanent Visitors (University of Iowa Press, U.S.) / Kevin Moffett (U.S.)
26. The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, U.S.) / Manuel Muñoz (U.S.)
27. The View from Castle Rock (Chatto & Windus, U.K.) / Alice Munro (Canada)
28. Valentines (Pantheon Books, U.S.) / Olaf Olafsson (Iceland)
29. Don’t Make Me Stop Now (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, U.S.) / Michael Parker (U.S.)
30. The Separate Heart (Jonathan Cape, U.K.) / Simon Robson (U.K.)
31. St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves (Chatto & Windus, U.K.) / Karen Russell (U.S.)
32. Call It Tender (Salt Publishing, U.K.) / John Saul (U.K.)
33. Not Your Average Bear and Other Maine Stories (Tilbury House, U.S.) / Jerry Stelmok (U.S.)
34. Dance of the Suitors (Oberon Press, Canada) / J.M. Villaverde (Canada)

Here are six of my personal favourites which I hope make it to the official shortlist:

1. The Stories of Mary Gordon (Pantheon Books, U.S., 2006) / Mary Gordon (U.S.)
2. Sunstroke (Jonathan Cape, U.K., 2007) / Tessa Hadley (U.K.)
3. Walk the Blue Fields (Faber & Faber, U.K., 2007) / Claire Keegan (Ireland)
4. Missing Kissinger (Chatto & Windus, U.K., 2007) / Etgar Keret (Israel) (trans. from the Hebrew by Miriam Schlesinger and Sondra Silverston)
5. Every Move You Make (Chatto & Windus, U.K., 2007) / David Malouf (Australia)
6. The View from Castle Rock (Chatto & Windus, U.K., 2006) / Alice Munro (Canada)