Huzzah! A little gift from the writing gods on this gorgeously sunny, first day of June. I’ve been shortlisted for The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. There were over two thousand entries.

The themes for this year’s short stories and poems are forgiveness and retribution, which feel stark, relevant and more complex than ever.

The judges are poet and novelist John Burnside, poet Gillian Clarke, and children’s author Katherine Rundell.