Biscuit Short Story Competition 2010

Peter Bromley lives, walks, writes and runs in North Northumberland. He is trying to find the secret to making more time for all of these things as well as work. A winning writer in a previous Biscuit competition - just a few short years ago - he has also had short fiction published by Chapman, Stand, Route and others.

The First Prizewinner's book, Sky Light, to be published by Biscuit on December 1st, will be his debut collection. Optimistically, he will start work on his second collection when the dust settles on his success in the 2010 Biscuit Competition.

Adnan Mahmutovic is a Bosnian Swede, a homely exile who teaches immigrant literature at Stockholm University in daytime, and works with people with mental disorders at night. He has worked with people with different kinds of disabilities for thirteen years.

In May 2010, he took his PhD. He has published a collection of stories, [Refuge]e, and two novellas, Illegitimate (Cantarabooks 2008) and the award-winning Thinner than a Hair (Cinnamon Press 2010).

Adnan Mahmutovic receives a cash prize of £300; Adnan's web site.

Amy Shuckburgh's stories, which focus on the bitter-sweet details of daily life, have been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, the Bristol Prize, the Rome Short Story Competition and the Fish Prize.

Amy is a portrait painter as well as a writer. She lives in London with her husband and daughter. She receives a cash prize of £150.

Michael Coutts, from Scotland, retired from his job of research on the physiology of trees and after a course on creative writing now writes short stories, some dark, some humorous. He has completed his first novel.

Laura Solomon is the author of four novels Black Light, Nothing Lasting, An Imitation of Life and Instant Messages and one short story collection Alternative Medicine. She has had winning stories in the Bridport 2004 and Bridport 2005 anthologies.

Mzana Mthimkhulu was born last century in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.  After secondary school, he studied social sciences at the then Polytechnic of North London. His short stories have appeared in several anthologies, periodicals and online.

Married, with three children, Mzana enjoys the scent of old books.

Michael Stewart, England, is a multi-award winning writer who has written for stage, radio and television. His fiction has been published in Route, Leaf, Aesthetica and Brand Magazine. His debut novel, King Crow, will be published in January 2011 by Bluemoose Books.

He lectures in Creative Writing at The University of Huddersfield.

Michael Stewart's web site.

Joanna Campbell, England, writes short fiction every day as though her life depended on it. Her head is so filled with stories that she is a hopeless secretary to her long-suffering husband. Her three patient and supportive daughters look upon the empty fridge and unironed clothes, but they never complain.

Virginia Gilbert, based in the Republic of Ireland, is a BAFTA-nominated writer and director. She writes and directs for film, radio and television. Her work has been placed on the BritList and she was named as a 'Star of Tomorrow' by Screen International 2008. She also writes short fiction. BBC Radio 4 broadcast a season of her short stories in March 2009.

Will Davis is a London-based author. His first novel My Side of the Story won the Betty Trask Prize in 2007 and his second novel Dream Machine was published last year by Bloomsbury. An extract from Dream Machine can be read on Will Davis's web site.