The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000 to 5,000 words).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]
| Commonwealth Short Story Prize | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000 – 5,000 words) |
| Location | Commonwealth countries |
| Presented by | Commonwealth Writers |
| First awarded | 2012 |
| Website | commonwealthfoundation.com |
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
editCommonwealth 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
editRegional 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 |
Judges
editEach 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).[28]
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).[29]
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).[30]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "About". Commonwealth Writers. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ Foundation, Commonwealth (23 January 2023). "Introducing Commonwealth Foundation Creatives". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "Cassava Republic Press — Commonwealth prizes get face-lift for 25th year". Cassavarepublic.biz. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ Tanya Batson-Savage (15 August 2013). "Commonwealth Writers Snuffs the Book Prize: Focus on Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Susumba. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2012: Regional Winners". 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012.
- ^ "Sri Lanka & New Zealand triumphant in the Commonwealth Writers 2012 prizes". 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013.
- ^ "Commonwealth Writers announces regional winners for 2013 prizes". Commonwealth Writers. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013.
- ^ "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2014: Regional Winners". Commonwealth Prize. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014.
- ^ "Jennifer Makumbi, Overall Winner of the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Commonwealth Prize. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014.
- ^ Luca Furio (2 October 2015). "Commonwealth short story prize 2015". Commonwealth Writers. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- ^ Alison Flood (28 April 2015). "First-time Fijian author scoops award in Commonwealth short story competition". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ Luca Furio. "Commonwealth short story prize 2016". Commonwealth Writers. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- ^ Luca Furio (22 May 2017). "Commonwealth short story prize 2017". Commonwealth Writers. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- ^ newsamericas (27 July 2018). "Caribbean News - This Caribbean National Wins The 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Caribbean and Latin America Daily News. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "NZ writer Harley Hern named Commonwealth Short Story Prize regional winner". Books+Publishing. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Cypriot writer Soteriou wins 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Books+Publishing. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Macleod wins 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Pacific region". Books+Publishing. 2 June 2020. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "Kritika Pandey (MFA '20) Wins 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Office of News & Media Relations | UMass Amherst. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Regional Winners". Commonwealth Writers. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Gibson wins 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Pacific region". Books+Publishing. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Eswatini writer Kota wins overall Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Books+Publishing. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "Fijian writer Rokonadravu wins Commonwealth Short Story Prize Pacific category". Books+Publishing. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Shortlist". Commonwealth Writers. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "McInnes wins 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Pacific category". Books+Publishing. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Jamaican author McPherson wins Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Books+Publishing. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Robertson wins 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Pacific category". Books+Publishing. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ Spanoudi, Melina (27 June 2024). "Sanjana Thakur wins £5k Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her 'adoption story in reverse'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2022". Commonwealth Writers. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2023". Commonwealth Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023.
- ^ "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2024". Commonwealth Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024.
External links
edit- Commonwealth Short Story Prize, official site