An author who wrote a short story using just text English is in the running for a prize worth £30,000.

The story, which is competing against a number of others written by heavyweight authors, is called Two Bad Thumbs and is by author and journalist Will Cohu. Having been shortlisted for the award twice before, Cohu is one of 20 on the list for this year’s Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story award.

Costa Book Award winner Diana Athill is among the other well-known competitors on the list.

One of the judges for the event, Lord Bragg, said: “The most striking thing about the haul of entries this year was the wide range – not only in geography but also, and perhaps consequently, in subject matter.”

As well as Lord Bragg, this year’s judging panel includes Hanif Kureishi and actor Ian Hart.

Strangely, while texting became very common soon after mobile phones became popular, nowadays the practice has become a little less common with many people tending to use proper English. Texting though still seems to be popular with teenagers.

While the major prize is £30,000, five other shortlisted finalists will receive £1,000 each. This will be administered by the literary charity Booktrust.

The shortlist will be announced on 4^th March with the winner being announced on 30^th March.