Radio 4

Cherise Saywell’s story ‘Ditto’ transports us to a small town in 1990s rural Australia in the third of our shortlisted stories in contention of the 2026 BBC National Short Story Award with the University of Cambridge. In this delicately crafted story, we follow our young narrator as he faces indecision and uncertainty, building up the courage to make a very important phone call. Richard Goulding reads this dark tale which, ultimately, has hope and salvation at its heart. Cherise Saywell is a novelist and short-story writer. She was born and brought up in Australia and, after travelling to the UK in 1996, has lived in Scotland ever since. The author of two novels, 'Desert Fish' (2011) and 'Twitcher' (2013), her short stories have been anthologised and won the Pindrop Short Story Award (2016), the Mslexia Short Story Prize (2015), and the V.S. Pritchett prize (2003), as well as being shortlisted for several prizes, including the Bristol Prize and the Asham Award. Cherise has been a Royal Literary Fund (RLF) Fellow at Stirling University and Strathclyde University. She now works on the RLF’s Bridge project in secondary schools, and as an RLF Consultant in universities. Born and raised in Australia, Cherise now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. The annual BBC National Short Story Award with the University of Cambridge celebrates its 21st anniversary in 2026 with a shortlist of five short stories by multi-award-winning writers and astonishing new talent from across the United Kingdom. Set in locations across the globe, from the Australian bush to Galway Bay, this year’s tender and vivid stories explore the value of human connection across generations and through friendship in a fractured world. Marking the awards is Di Speirs, who has judged the BBC National Short Story Award since its launch. She will be joined on the judging panel by 2022 NSSA winner Saba Sams and two former NSSA shortlistees, Tahmima Anam (2016) and Will Eaves (2017), and Costa Best First Novel Award winner, Andrew Micheal Hurley. The BBC National Short Story Award with the University of Cambridge was established to raise the profile of the short form and this year’s all-female shortlist join an impressive list of alumni. From 14 to 18 September, all five of the shortlisted stories can be heard at 3.30pm each afternoon on Radio 4. The winner of the 21st BBC National Short Story Award with the University of Cambridge will be announced live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row at 7.15pm on Tuesday 29 September 2026. Reader: Richard Goulding Writer: Cherise Saywell Abridged by Elizabeth Allard Produced by Bethany Woodhead