Literature isn’t a sport or a competition. It’s about the contribution we all make as individuals to the grand cathedral of the human spirit. This is where the human spirit is housed and the human condition exhibited for everyone to see and seek understanding within.

A bad or mediocre story is soon forgotten amongst the rubble of all the others. A good story will always rise to the top and its reader will take the vision of it with them long after reading. An excellent story will change the reality of its reader forever.

It is for this reason that prizes like the Brick Lane Short Story Prize serve their purpose. And this is why I was delighted to take part as a reader for the second year in a row.

The prize searches for ‘new, exciting and diverse voices’ in the world of writing with the expectation that the cream will rise to the top. In doing so, such voices can illuminate the corners of the world around us not yet seen fully, or not yet recognised for all its beauty and complexity.

I look forward to reading the winner.