A FORMER Bideford schoolboy has been shortlisted for an international prize for his collection of short stories.

Tom Vowler, 38, who grew up in Bideford and attended the town's comprehensive school and North Devon College is in the final 12 people battling it out for the Scott Prize for short story collections.

One American, one Australian, one New Zealander, one Irish person and eight Brits are in the shortlist – but only four people will take the prize at the end of the month.

Mr Vowler's 45,000-word collection – They May Not Mean To But They Do – was half-written as part of his masters degree dissertation on a creative writing course at the University of Plymouth.

He finished the rest off last year and has recently left Plymouth and moved to Tavistock.

He said: "I'm really proud to have got this far and it's very exciting for me and everybody on the shortlist."

The Scott Prize is a new award from Cambridge-based independent publisher Salt, which has a keen focus on poetry and short stories. It was launched last year and the shortlist has just been announced.

They May Not Mean To But They Do is a line taken from a Philip Larkin poem, This Be The Verse.

Mr Vowler said there is a theme of 'dubious parenting' running through the stories.

The winners of the prize will be announced on February 26.

They will then have their collections published in hardback in the UK and USA – and later in paperback in the UK, USA and Australia.

Mr Vowler said: "A lot of the stories in my collection have been published already in journals and competitions but this is the first chance for a collection of mine to be published.

"Short stories and poetry are often neglected so this in an exciting prize."

Mr Vowler is also working on a novel set on Dartmoor. Last year he received an Arts Council grant for just under £5,000 to research and write it.