chief who gave me the job said: ‘You are the rank outsider. I’m taking a complete punt on you.’ I didn’t even know how to use a mic.” Australian Broadcasting gave her the oppor-
tunity to “pick up all the stuff that nobody else wanted to cover”. She moved to Australia briefly but returned to London to take up her first BBC job, starting out on Woman’s Hour at the age of 26. “I’ve seen enormous change in the kind of media landscape since I’ve been at the BBC obviously, it’s massively different now, and on-demand and BBC Sounds have made things accessible in an entirely different way,” she said. “I was on Woman’s Hour when it moved from
two o’clock in the afternoon to 10 o’clock in the morning. Women marched on Broadcasting House with ironing boards, because they did their ironing in the afternoon when they listened to Woman’s Hour, and they didn’t want us to change it.”
A
fter several years of managing serialised dramas on Woman’s Hour, she “managed to fight her way” into producing the first episode of Book of the Week. She
went on to direct scores of Book at Bedtimes, short stories and dramas. As executive editor for BBC Audio she led the London readings team and was the editor for Open Book and Book Club on Radio 4 and World Book Club on the BBC World Service. One area of the publishing landscape that
Speirs is proudest of having influenced is the short story. “Twenty years ago we were worried about the death of the short story, because hardly any were being published,” she said. This observation led her and others to found the BBC National Short Story Award (NSSA), and she has been heavily involved since its inception. The £15,000 annual prize, a
Di Speirs started her first BBC job, on Woman’s Hour, at the age of 26
Ross Raisin, winner of the 2024 NSSA, returns for 2025 as a judge
partnership between the BBC and the University of Cambridge, has been credited with giving a much-needed boost to the careers of plenty of short-form writers, from Ingrid Persaud to Jacqueline Crooks and Ross Raisin. Although she is leaving the BBC, Speirs will
The bureau chief who gave me the job said: ‘You are the rank outsider. I’m taking a complete punt on you.’ I didn’t even know how to use a mic
remain a judge for the NSSA this year. In fact, this year she will chair a line-up of returning judges, who were announced on 11th December: “I’ve been the returning judge every year since it began and I’m going to chair it next year.” The “fantastic panel of previous judges, all of whom have done it before, and been asked to come back a second time”, includes William Boyd, Kamila Shamsie, Lucy Caldwell and Ross Raisin. Submissions for the award open today. Radio 1 presenter Lauren Layfield has also been announced as chair of the BBC Young Writers’ Award for the first time this year. Earlier this year, Speirs was awarded an MBE
for services to broadcasting and to literature. She is “incredibly proud” of both elements, but particularly pleased to have been recognised for her contributions to the development and recognition of new writers in particular.
She added: “What I’m proudest of is, I think there are about 25 collections now out there that happened partly because authors won or were shortlisted for the NSSA. I think that has been a change in the publishing landscape. There are more short story collections out now than there were when the prize started.”
Years that Open Book ran on BBC Radio 4 26 The BBC National Short Story Award’s prize pot £15,000 “I think it says something about the impor-
tance of what my team and I tried to do over 30 years. Bringing books to audiences and getting news writers in front of audiences, as well as the NSSA, has meant that the BBC’s support of creative writing is now cultural. And, I mean, thank goodness, that that will carry on, and it’s part of a broader cultural fabric. It’s an area where we have really made a difference.” When asked if she has the time or inclination
to write short stories herself, Speirs laughed: “No, I’ve got two writers in my family, and that’s enough really. My husband writes children’s books and my younger daughter is a short story writer, who is putting a collection together. She has just this week been announced as a finalist in the Mslexia competition.” While there is no doubt Speirs is already buzzing with ideas for the future, she’d like to take some time out before settling on what to do once her time at the BBC is over. “I’ve been flat out for 35 years. Apart from taking five months when I had each of my daughters, I haven’t had any time out at all,” she said. “I’m planning on taking a bit of time to, you know, smell the roses and see what I feel like doing. I’ve had lots of offers and I’m mulling over what would be fun to do. I’ve done a lot of managing, especially in the last few years, so I’d like to get back closer to working with texts, with people, and having more time to read.”
REPORTING Matilda Battersby
The Judges BBC National Short Story Award
William Boyd
Author and screenwriter, inaugural NSSA judge
Lucy Caldwell
Author, NSSA winner (2021)
Ross Raisin
Author, NSSA winner (2024)
Kamila Shamsie
Author, Women’s Prize for Fiction winner (2018)
Di Speirs
Chair of the judges, RSL honorary fellow
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TOM PILSTON
TOM PILSTON
Features
Trade Interview
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