Commonwealth Short Story Prize
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The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000 to 5,000 words). The prize is open to citizens of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations aged 18 and over. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is managed by the Commonwealth Foundation, and was set up in 2012 to inspire, develop and connect writers and storytellers across the Commonwealth.[1][2] The Prize replaced the Commonwealth Short Story Competition, a roughly similar competition that existed from 1996 to 2011 and was discontinued by the Commonwealth Foundation, along with the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.[3]
The Prize is open to writers who have had little or no work published and particularly aimed at those places with little or no publishing industry. The prize aims to bring writing from these countries to the attention of an international audience. The stories need to be in English, but can be translated from other languages.
The overall winner receives £5,000 and the regional winner £2,500. During 2012–13, the regional winner received £1,000. Starting in 2014, the award for regional winners of the Short Story Prize was increased to £2,500. At the same time, Commonwealth Writers discontinued the Commonwealth Book Prize and focused solely on the Short Story Prize.[4]
Commonwealth Foundation
Commonwealth Writers is the cultural programme of the Commonwealth Foundation. The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1965, resourced by and reporting to Commonwealth governments, and guided by Commonwealth values and priorities.
Winners
Regional winners and overall winners.
| Year | Region | Author | Title | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012[5][6] | Africa | Jekwu Anyaegbuna | "Morrison Okoli (1955–2010)" | Nigeria |
| Asia | Anushka Jasraj | "Radio Story" | India | |
| Canada and Europe | Andrea Mullaney | "The Ghost Marriage" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Diana McCaulay | "The Dolphin Catcher" | Jamaica | |
| Pacific | Emma Martin | "Two Girls in a Boat" | New Zealand | |
| 2013[7] (joint winners) |
Africa | Julian Jackson | "The New Customers" | South Africa |
| Asia | Michael Mendis | "The Sarong-Man in the Old House, and an Incubus for a Rainy Night" | Sri Lanka | |
| Canada and Europe | Eliza Robertson | "We Walked on Water" | Canada | |
| Caribbean | Sharon Millar | "The Whale House" | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Pacific | Zoë Meager | "Things with Faces" | New Zealand | |
| 2014[8][9] | Africa | Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi | "Let's Tell This Story Properly" | Uganda |
| Asia | Sara Adam Ang | "A Day in the Death" | Singapore | |
| Canada and Europe | Lucy Caldwell | "Killing Time" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Maggie Harris | "Sending for Chantal" | Guyana | |
| Pacific | Lucy Treloar | "The Dog and the Sea" | Australia | |
| 2015[10][11] | Africa | Lesley Nneka Arimah | "Light" | Nigeria |
| Asia | Siddhartha Gigoo | "The Umbrella Man" | India | |
| Canada and Europe | Jonathan Tel | "The Human Phonograph" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Kevin Jared Hosein | "The King of Settlement 4" | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Pacific | Mary Rokonadravu | "Famished Eels" | Fiji | |
| 2016[12] | Africa | Faraaz Mahomed | "The Pigeon" | South Africa |
| Asia | Parashar Kulkarni | "Cow and Company" | India | |
| Canada and Europe | Stephanie Seddon | "Eel" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Lance Dowrich | "Ethelbert and the Free Cheese" | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Pacific | Tina Makereti | "Black Milk" | New Zealand | |
| 2017[13] | Africa | Akwaeke Emezi | "Who Is Like God" | Nigeria |
| Asia | Anushka Jasraj | "Drawing Lessons" | India | |
| Canada and Europe | Tracy Fells | "The Naming of Moths" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Ingrid Persaud | "The Sweet Sop" | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Pacific | Nat Newman | "The Death of Margaret Roe" | Australia | |
| 2018[14] | Africa | Efua Traoré | "True Happiness" | Nigeria |
| Asia | Sagnik Datta | "The Divine Pregnancy of a Twelve-Year-Old Girl" | India | |
| Canada and Europe | Lynda Clark | "Ghillie's Mum" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Kevin Jared Hosein | "Passage" | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Pacific | Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa | "Matalasi" | Samoa | |
| 2019[15][16] | Africa | Mbozi Haimbe | "Madam’s Sister" | Zambia |
| Asia | Saras Manickam | "My Mother Pattu" | Malaysia | |
| Canada and Europe | Constantia Soteriou | "Death Customs" | Cyprus | |
| Caribbean | Alexia Tolas | "Granma's Porch" | Bahamas | |
| Pacific | Harley Hern | "Screaming" | New Zealand | |
| 2020[17][18] | Africa | Innocent Chizaram Ilo | "When a Woman Renounces Motherhood" | Nigeria |
| Asia | Kritika Pandey | "The Great Indian Tee and Snakes" | India | |
| Canada and Europe | Reyah Martin | "Wherever Mister Jensen Went" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Brian S. Heap | "Mafootoo" | Jamaica | |
| Pacific | Andrea E. Macleod | "The Art of Waving" | Australia | |
| 2021[19][20] | Africa | Rémy Ngamije | "Granddaughter of the Octopus" | Namibia |
| Asia | Kanya D'Almeida | "I Cleaned The" | Sri Lanka | |
| Canada and Europe | Carol Farrelly | "Turnstones" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Roland Watson-Grant | "The Disappearance of Mumma Del" | Jamaica | |
| Pacific | Katerina Gibson | "Fertile Soil" | Australia | |
| 2022[21][22][23] | Africa | Ntsika Kota | "and the earth drank deep" | Eswatini |
| Asia | Sofia Mariah Ma | "The Last Diver on Earth" | Singapore | |
| Canada and Europe | Cecil Browne | "A Hat for Lemer" | United Kingdom/St Vincent and the Grenadines | |
| Caribbean | Diana McCaulay | "Bridge over the Yallahs River" | Jamaica | |
| Pacific | Mary Rokonadravu | "The Nightwatch" | Fiji | |
| 2023[24][25] | Africa | Hana Gammon | "The Undertaker’s Apprentice" | South Africa |
| Asia | Agnes Chew | "Oceans Away from My Homeland" | Singapore | |
| Canada and Europe | Rue Baldry | "Lech, Prince, and the Nice Things" | United Kingdom | |
| Caribbean | Kwame McPherson | "Ocoee" | Jamaica | |
| Pacific | Himali McInnes | "Kilinochchi" | New Zealand | |
| 2024[26][27] | Africa | Reena Usha Rungoo | "Dite" | Mauritius |
| Asia | Sanjana Thakur | "Aishwarya Rai" | India | |
| Canada and Europe | Julie Bouchard (Arielle Aaronson, translator) | "What Burns" | Canada | |
| Caribbean | Portia Subran | "The Devil's Son" | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Pacific | Pip Robertson | "A River Then the Road" | Aotearoa New Zealand | |
| 2025[28] | Africa | Joshua Lubwama | "Mothers Not Appearing in Search" | Uganda |
| Asia | Faria Basher | "An Eye and a Leg" | Bangladesh | |
| Canada and Europe | Chanel Sutherland | "Descend" | Canada | |
| Caribbean | Subraj Singh | "Margot's Run" | Guyana | |
| Pacific | Kathleen Ridgwell | "Crab Sticks and Lobster Rolls" | Australia |
Judges
Each year the judging panel comprises a chair, as well as one representative each from the five regions matching the prize's regional awards: Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
In 2022 the judges were Fred D'Aguiar (Chair), Louise Umutoni-Bower (Africa), Jahnavi Barua (Asia), Stephanos Stephanides (Canada and Europe), Kevin Jared Hosein (Caribbean), and Jeanine Leane (Pacific).[29]
In 2023 the judges were Bilal Tanweer (Chair), Rémy Ngamije (Africa), Ameena Hussein (Asia), Katrina Best (Canada and Europe), Mac Donald Dixon (Caribbean), and Selina Tusitala Marsh (Pacific).[30]
In 2024 the judges were Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Chair), Keletso Mopai (Africa), O Thiam Chin (Asia), Shashi Bhat (Canada and Europe), Richard Georges (Caribbean), and Melissa Lucashenko (Pacific).[31]
See also
References
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- ↑ "Faria Basher named Asia Regional Winner of Commonwealth Short Story Prize". The Daily Star, May 14, 2025.
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External links
- Commonwealth Short Story Prize, official site