Mat Growcott Wins Dinesh Allirajah Prize 2026
I’m very proud to announce that my story, In His Life, won the Dinesh Allirajah Prize for 2026.
I was delighted (and surprised) to come away with the top prize. at the awards evening, which was held on Tuesday night (May 5).
In His Life is the story of a father and son going to The Dog and Lamb pub to see a Beatles tribute band. Real life returns, and the joy of the night is short-lived.
Comma Press will release an anthology of all the shortlisted stories, including In His Life. The theme for the competition this year was ‘fandoms’, and stories were as ranged as you can imagine. I can’t wait to see them all.
Judges praised In His Life for the relationship between the main characters, its structure and its control of tone. Judges called it a “powerful piece of work”.
They said: “We admired the careful control of tone and exposition, the elegant structure, and the writer’s unflinching attention to the complications of the story’s central relationship.”
Organisers set up The Dinesh Allirajah Prize after Dinesh’s death in 2014. It was a reflection of his love of writing short fiction. This is the prize’s ninth year. It’s run with the University of Lancashire.
Deeply proud of the story. I’m happy judges connected with it. Thank you, also, to the shortlisting and longlisting teams.
