The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000 to 5,000 words).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
Commonwealth Writers, the cultural initiative of the
Commonwealth Foundation, which was set up in 2012 to inspire, develop and connect writers and storytellers across the Commonwealth. 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.
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
Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Bes ...
and focused solely on the Short Story Prize.
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.
Judges
In 2022 the judges were
Fred D'Aguiar (Chair),
Louise Umutoni-Bower (Judge, African Region) founder of Huza Press,
Jahnavi Barua (Judge, Asian Region),
Stephanos Stephanides (Judge, Canada and Europe Region),
Kevin Jared Hosein
Kevin Jared Hosein (born 1986) is a Caribbean novelist and short-story writer from Trinidad and Tobago. He is known for winning the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize with his story "Passage". He also won the regional (Caribbean) section of the ...
(Judge, Caribbean Region) and
Jeanine Leane Jeanine is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Jeanine Áñez (born 1967), Bolivian politician and lawyer who served as Interim President of Bolivia from 2019 to 2020
*Jeanine Bapst (born 1968), Swiss ski mountaineer
*Jeanine Basin ...
(Judge, Pacific Region).
See also
*
Commonwealth Foundation prizes
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Commonwealth Short Story Prize official site (Commonwealth Writers)
Awards established in 2012
Commonwealth Writers awards
Short story awards