The awards were presented on Tuesday 30 September at a ceremony at BBC Broadcasting House, broadcast live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.
BBC National Short Story Award 2025
Colwill Brown won the twentieth anniversary BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University for ‘You Cannot Thead a Moving Needle’, a story praised for its “startling prose” and “astonishing” voice.
The story follows teenager Shaz, whose life is changed after a brutal incident with two boys, one the boyfriend of her best friend. Written in the Doncaster dialect of Brown’s childhood and in the second person, the story explores shame, silence, and the long-term impact of trauma within a small community.
Brown, whose debut novel We Pretty Pieces of Flesh was published earlier this year, received the £15,000 prize from the 2025 Chair of Judges Di Speirs MBE. The story is available to listen to on BBC Sounds, read by Sophie McShera.
Di Speirs said: “From first reading, Colwill Brown’s story leapt from the page, alive and immediately compelling, deeply disturbing, a story we couldn’t forget. The brio of the dialect, the brilliance of both the second person narration and the handling of the passage of time, and above all the exploration of a life critically damaged in a moment, all made this our unanimous winner.”
Speaking about her work, Brown said:
“The story was inspired by memories of growing up in Doncaster in the late nineties and early noughties, based on my sense of the atmosphere at that time, what it was like to be a teenager, in particular what it was like to be a girl. I admire so many of the writers who have appeared on the [BBC NSSA] list; it’s a real honour to have a story of mine in company with theirs.”
Dr Bonnie Lander Johnson, Fellow, Lecturer and Director of Studies at Cambridge University, said:
“Colwill Brown’s Yorkshire-dialect story is a fast, taut examination of repercussions. One messy, half-remembered night in a young woman’s life echos down the years in bouts of rage and shame, in the need for silence to protect friends and the struggle to find a way to live among dwindling opportunities when the same people still wander the same streets each day. This year’s winning story demonstrates how seemingly small events can shape our futures, how the thoughtlessness of youth can shadow our adult choices. All of this is done in deft, startling prose that opens new possibilities in contemporary literary voice. Congratulations Colwill!”
Brown topped the impressive shortlist that included Andrew Miller, Caoilinn Hughes, Edward Hogan, and Emily Abdeni-Holman.
BBC Young Writers’ Award 2025
The winner of the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University 2025 was announced alongside the NSSA. Rebecca Smith, a 17-year-old sixth former from Sheffield, received the award for ‘Scouse’s Run’, a story exploring toxic masculinity, bullying, and the violence that can result from suppressed emotions.
Set in Yorkshire and written in local dialect, the story follows Scouse, who bets friends he can ride a shopping trolley down a hill without crying out, with tragic consequences. The story was praised for its strong voice, tension, and finely calibrated prose. It is available to listen to on BBC Sounds, read by Andy Clark.
Lauren Layfield, Chair of Judges, said:
“Despite hundreds of incredible entries for the Young Writers Award 2025, it was Scouse’s Run that I couldn’t stop thinking about. A singular, tragic event told in a truly authentic voice, it deftly explores the theme of toxic masculinity amongst young boys. It’s important, massively relevant to 2025 and fun to read – until you reach the ending which will take your breath away. Rebecca Smith has written something remarkable, capturing kitchen sink realism and Northern grit – she’s a true talent with a big future ahead and I’m thrilled that she takes the Young Writers Award 2025.”
Rebecca Smith said:
“I started the story as a sort of epic adventure gone wrong, but as I was writing I began to lean into themes of peer pressure and toxic masculinity. The character Runty’s reaction is a result of built-up resentment from the bullying he has received [and] this violent element demonstrates, in my opinion, how young men deal with feeling powerless. I’m so glad that a story I’ve been so invested in, and have become so attached to, has received this recognition. And I’m beyond excited for everything that comes next as a part of this award.”
Dr Elizabeth Rawlinson-Mills, University Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Fellow of Robinson College Cambridge, said:
“It’s a pleasure to congratulate Rebecca Smith on her powerful winning story, which has been rattling around in my head ever since I first read it. While Scouse’s cart runs out of control, Smith’s prose is only ever perfectly handled, each word finely calibrated to draw us in to the intimacy and violence of teen friendship. The sucker-punch of an ending is exquisite. This is a story that will stay with me a long time, and a worthy winner among an outstanding shortlist. Congratulations to Rebecca, and to all the shortlisted Young Writers.”
Smith topped a competitive shortlist of Holly Dye, Anoushka Patel, Edith Taussig, and Anna Tuchinda.
About the awards
The BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University was established in 2006 and is one of the most prestigious awards for a single short story. The BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University was created in 2015 to discover and inspire the next generation of short story writers.
Cambridge’s long-term partnership with both the Awards, is led by Dr Bonnie Lander Johnson (Fellow and Associate Professor in English at Downing and Newnham Colleges) and Dr Elizabeth Rawlinson-Mills (University Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Fellow of Robinson College).
In 2025, the Award is generously supported by the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculties of English and Education, Downing and Robinson Colleges, the University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Professional and Continuing Education (PACE).
Doncaster-born writer Colwill Brown and Sheffield sixth former Rebecca Smith have been announced as the winners of the 2025 BBC National Short Story Award (NSSA) and BBC Young Writers’ Award (YWA) with Cambridge University.
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