Joe Bedford is an award-winning author based in Stamford, Lincolnshire.
His debut novel A Bad Decade for Good People, longlisted for the Grindstone Novel Prize, was published by Parthian Books in June 2023 (see left). His first short story collection, Mating Habits, will be published by Parthian Books in Autumn 2027.
His short stories have been featured or are forthcoming in 3:AM, Adbusters, Cake, Cranked Anvil, Disclaimer, Ellipsis, Evening Standard, Fictive Dream, Flash, Flights, Flock, The Ham Free Press, Jellyfish Review, The Journal of the Short Story in English, Leicester Literary Review, Litro, The London Journal of Fiction, Lunate, The Manchester Review, The Mechanics’ Institute Review, New Critique, The Nottingham Review, Postall, Ragaire, Retreat West, Spelk, Spontaneity, Storgy, Structo, Tales from the Forest, Wilder Stories and Writing East Midlands. His work has also been performed as part of Brighton Fringe, the ENSFR annual conference, Felixstowe Book Festival, Literary Leicester, M4C Research Festival and Small Wonder Festival, and has been anthologised in The Bedford Prize Anthology 2025, Descent, Leicester Writes 2020, 2021 and 2022, May Break Your Bones, Parracombe Prize Anthology 2020, Rattle Tales 4, Secret Attic 9, The Brighton Prize Anthology and Winding Roads.
In 2024, his short story ‘Zanzibar Blue’ won The Bridport Prize. Other short stories have also won or been placed in numerous national competitions, including the Leicester Writes Prize, Waterstones’ Write & Raise, Aurora Prize for Writing, City Academy, Cranked Anvil, Evening Standard Stories Festival prize, Hastings LitFest, Hastings Writers Room, Manchester Fiction Prize, Retreat West Flash Prize, Scottish Association of Writers summer prize and Secret Attic. He has also been shortlisted for the Bournemouth Writing Prize, Lunate 500, Oxford Flash Fiction Prize and the ALCS Tom-Gallon Award, and has been longlisted for the Bedford Prize, Cambridge Flash Fiction Prize, Cambridge Short Story Prize, Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Exeter Short Story Prize, Fiction Factory competition, Fish Short Story Prize, Flash 500, Hastings Book Festival Prize, HG Wells competition, Leicester Writes Prize, Parracombe Prize, Retreat West Short Story Prize, the Welkin Prize and the Wenlock Olympian Society competition.
He graduated with a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Leicester in January 2026.
He is represented by Charlotte Seymour at the Johnson & Alcock Literary Agency.
Photography by Deborah Thwaites
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