Six short stories by six anonymous writers are competing for the first ever Costa short story prize, with the public voting to decide on the eventual winner.
From "Dislocation", about a man struggling to come to terms with his uncle's betrayal in cold war Germany, to "Don't Try this at Home", in which a woman splits her boyfriend in half, the public will decide by online vote which of the six stories will take the £3,500 prize on 29 January.
Judges, including the author Victoria Hislop and the Spandau Ballet songwriter Gary Kemp, sifted through more than 1,800 anonymous entries to come up with their final six, which also includes "Millie and Bird", a coming-of-age story told by a 16-year-old girl, Mown Grass, about the fallout in a family when the patriarch dies, "Small Town Removal", set as a man returns to a small town for a funeral, and "Trompette de la Mort", a disturbing story of a love affair and pregnancy. The stories can be read online and listened to atwww.costabookawards.com/short-stories/shortlist.