Chris Beckett's collection, The Turing Test, from Elastic Press, has won the prestigious Edge Hill Short Story Prize, earning Chris a remarkable £5,000 cash prize. The judges said:
"I suspect Chris Beckett winning the Edge Hill Prize will be seen as a surprise in the world of books. In fact, though, it was also a bit of surprise to the judges, none of whom knew they were science fiction fans beforehand. Yet, once the judging process started, it soon became clear that The Turing Test was the book that we'd all been impressed by, and enjoyed, the most - and one by one we admitted it. This was a very strong shortlist, including one Booker Prize winner in Anne Enright, and two authors who've been Booker shortlisted in Ali Smith and Shena Mackay. Even so, it was Beckett who seemed to us to have written the most imaginative and endlessly inventive stories, fizzing with ideas and complete with strong characters and big contemporary themes. We also appreciated the sheer zest of his story-telling and the obvious pleasure he had taken in creating his fiction."
Andrew Hook (publisher of Elastic Press, and editor of the BFS's New Horizons) said: "Naturally, we're very pleased about this." Obviously he is overwhelmed! Copies of the book are still available from Elastic Press. More on the Edge Hill Prize here.
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