Commonwealth Short Story Prize
2021
The 2021 prize winner
‘Winning the Commonwealth Short Story prize during this moment of global upheaval feels like a tremendous honour and an equally tremendous responsibility. It makes me question what it means to be a writer in these times, times when the human imagination might offer us our best shot at survival. I’ve long felt that fiction is the last ‘free’ place on earth in which to fully envision (and execute!) radical alternatives to the often dismal systems that govern us. To have won the prize for a story about two destitute, ageing women in Sri Lanka digging through the debris of their lives in search of a little dignity is more than a blessing—it’s a firm order from the universe to keep inventing ways for the powerless to gather together, giggle together, and win.’
‘Congratulations to Kanya D’Almeida, whose winning story captivated the judges from the outset. In “I Cleaned The–“ the short story form is fully exploited. Set in a Sanctuary for the Forsaken, “a place for people who have no people”, it brims with humanity, exploring the themes of love and death in an ingenious structure. In a frame narrative, Ishwan cares for a terminally ill fellow-inmate, and embedded within it is a story she tells her friend about her previous years of caring for a severely debilitated child. The narration is an accomplished interweaving of the two-time frames in which the stories artfully testify to love in its various forms. For all its scatology, its depiction of the unsavoury body in decline, “I Cleaned The-” deals in delicacy and the forbearance that love bestows. With a title that speaks of the unspoken and the unutterable, as well as attempts by the poor and overlooked to voice their feelings, D’Almeida appeals to both the heart and the mind of the reader in this portrayal of unspeakable injustice.’
‘As we enter the second year of a pandemic marked by the heroism of invisible frontline workers, it seems fitting that the wonderful tale which has won the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize celebrates a member of this hidden army. Kanya D’Almeida’s story of love and humanity, in the face of loss and grief, is one that speaks to us all.’
Watch the 2021 prize ceremony
Regional winners
We are delighted to announce this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize regional winners!
- Pacific 'Fertile Soil' Katerina Gibson (Australia)
- Africa 'Granddaughter of the Octopus' Rémy Ngamije (Namibia)
- Asia 'I Cleaned The' Kanya D’Almeida (Sri Lanka)
- Caribbean 'The Disappearance of Mumma Dell' Roland Watson-Grant (Jamaica)
- Canada & Europe 'Turnstones' Carol Farrelly (United Kingdom)
In its tenth year, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction from the Commonwealth. This year’s regional winners were selected from a record 6423 entries from 50 Commonwealth countries.
Chair of the Judges, South African novelist Zoë Wicomb, said:
‘Rereading a smaller group of stories, looking at them once again in the fiercer, narrower light of competition, is a daunting step in the judging process. We celebrate difference and recoil from the idea of ranking works that are so diverse and encompass such a range of subjects, but that is what we agreed to do. We have come to know these stories intimately, thought about them more carefully after previous debates, and juggled them in our hearts. Thus we meet with fingers crossed and loins girded for agonistic discussion and argumentation. But we have also come to know and trust each other in this process, and so we arrive at our regional winners with their captivating stories of insight and compassion, stories that in their distinctive voices speak to our troubled times.’
The five regional winners’ stories were published online by the literary magazine Granta in the run-up to the announcement of the overall winner on 30 June. They are also published in a special print edition by Paper + Ink, available online and in bookshops from 30 June.
In a prestigious university town, a young woman grapples with a persistent sense of displacement. A night marked by an uncommon storm ushers in unexpected visitors—strangers who seem oddly familiar. These encounters stir an uncanny blend of déjà vu and longing.
‘The strangeness of ‘Fertile Soil’ dawns slowly: the narrator has increasingly odd encounters until she meets someone who has, in fact, been slowly replacing her, just as invasive species of tree replace natives, just as the city and its monuments replace what was there before. The judges loved this story for its layers, the way it speaks of place and displacement, colonisation, invasion and grief, and yet does so with such a light touch that it is also simply a story about deja vu, or the stuff that makes up a life. Sharply told, darkly humorous, surreal and clever, ‘Fertile Soil’ represents the Pacific region well.’
Tina Makereti, Judge, Pacific region
In ‘Granddaughter of the Octopus,’ a compelling family saga unfolds, narrated through the lens of a woman’s relationships with eight distinct men. Shaped by her grandmother’s fierce independence and guidance, the protagonist navigates love, heartache, and the legacy of her ancestors.
”Granddaughter of the Octopus’ is a psychologically astute portrait of a larger-than-life character whose rollicking essence is distilled into the reader’s imagination through concise prose, yes, and poetic detail, yes again. But there’s also that extra magic of the writer who wields metaphor like a whip cracking at untamed life. The unforgettable matriarch of this bittersweet tale is audacious, indecorous, and unabashedly sensual, all of which, and much, much more—I must add hilarious—are captured in a voice both raw and tender as a welt. To quote the story’s narrator, ‘The past always wins.’ But the future, in the transfiguring writing of Rémy Ngamije, is winning this time.’
Igoni Barrett, Judge, Africa region
‘I Cleaned The—’, is a story about ‘dirty work’: domestic labour, abandonment, romantic encounters behind bathroom doors, and human waste.
‘Congratulations to Kanya D’Almeida, whose winning story captivated the judges from the outset. In “I Cleaned The–“ the short story form is fully exploited. Set in a Sanctuary for the Forsaken, “a place for people who have no people”, it brims with humanity, exploring the themes of love and death in an ingenious structure. In a frame narrative, Ishwan cares for a terminally ill fellow-inmate, and embedded within it is a story she tells her friend about her previous years of caring for a severely debilitated child. The narration is an accomplished interweaving of the two-time frames in which the stories artfully testify to love in its various forms. For all its scatology, its depiction of the unsavoury body in decline, “I Cleaned The-” deals in delicacy and the forbearance that love bestows. With a title that speaks of the unspoken and the unutterable, as well as attempts by the poor and overlooked to voice their feelings, D’Almeida appeals to both the heart and the mind of the reader in this portrayal of unspeakable injustice.’
Zoë Wicomb, Chair of the Judges
In a rural Jamaican district, the somber proceedings of a matriarch’s funeral take an unexpected turn as her body mysteriously vanishes, plunging the community into chaos. Meanwhile, the district itself faces an existential threat of vanishing from the map, adding a sense of urgency to their predicament.
‘A wiseass, pitch-perfect teenager tells the story of a pear tree near to the rail tracks of a bauxite train in a rural Jamaican district – no one will eat from this particular tree – but why? “The Disappearance of Mumma Dell” teems with lightly but perfectly sketched and familiar characters – a hellfire preacher, a scammer, community elders and shadowy politicians. Promises are broken, warnings are ignored, and the now power of social media supersedes the then magic of obeah. Rich, funny and deeply rooted in the Jamaican countryside, this story reverberates with the drumbeats of the ancestors and delivers an incisive commentary on what gets protected, by whom and why. ’
Diana McCaulay, Judge, Caribbean region
Amidst the beauty of a prestigious university, a young woman wrestles with the haunting notion of not truly belonging. As the night descends, a storm unleashes a troupe of unusual trespassers, forever altering her perception of herself and the world around her.
”Turnstones’ is a story I’ve been compelled to revisit multiple times for its ideas, its spirit, the crescendo and surprise of its denouement and, of course, the triumphant trills. It is a story that lingers in the imagination, one that challenges the long shadow of power and of gatekeeping, of institutions and received wisdom, and brings us to a reckoning in today’s world. These complex ideas present simply, in the exchange between Jo and the porter, while the eponymous turnstones assert their presence. The writer is deft in the creation of an unsettling atmosphere inside a claustrophobic setting. ‘Turnstones’ handles humour, the too-familiar frustrations of being obstructed by inflexibility, the inevitable redressing of the balance, the power of storytelling, and so much more. Most crucially, it is a challenge to our perspectives, a wholly transformative piece.’
Keith Jarrett, Judge, Canada and Europe
The Shortlist
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'Carved' , Tim SaundersNew Zealand
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'Class Struggle' , Ian StewartCanada
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'Downpour' , SJ FinnAustralia
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'English at the End of Time' , Rawiya HoseinTrinidad and Tobago
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'Fertile Soil' , Katerina GibsonAustralia
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'Genuine Human Hair' , Sharma TaylorJamaica
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'Granddaughter of the Octopus' , Rémy NgamijeNamibia
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'Hunger' , Andre BagooTrinidad and Tobago
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'I Cleaned The' , Kanya D’AlmeidaSri Lanka
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'It Ends with a Kiss' , Riddhi DastidarIndia
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'Mass Effect' , Joshua WalesCanada
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'Ogbuefi' , Vincent AniokeNigeria
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'Rabbit' , Samantha Lane MurphyAustralia
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'some words ending in a sentence' , phill doranUnited Kingdom
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'Starry Night' , Cara MarksCanada
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'Submission' , Nur KahnPakistan
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'Tetra Hydro Cannabinol' , Moso SematlaneLesotho
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'The Current Climate' , Aravind JayanIndia
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'The Disappearance of Mumma Dell' , Roland Watson-GrantJamaica
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'The Woman; or Euryale' , A. N. KingAustralia
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'Tourism is our Business' , Heather BarkerBarbados
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'Turnstones' , Carol FarrellyUnited Kingdom
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'Weeds' , Ling LowMalaysia
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'A for Abortion' , Franklyn UsouwaNigeria
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'An Analysis of a Fragile Affair' , Ola W. HalimNigeria
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CarvedTim SaundersNew Zealand
‘Carved’ follows the life of a girl that is changed forever. She blames the only thing that could have saved her from the empty darkness that eventually consumes her. In a seaside town, the girl navigates teenage friendships and emotions. The story explores themes of manipulation, betrayal, and self-discovery against a backdrop of coastal beauty.
‘Sam ran over and scooped up the ball; his chiselled legs flashed in the sun. A smattering of applause rippled around the other boys. I imagined my skin as red leather, his fingers gently scooping.’
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Class StruggleIan StewartCanada
Unlock the pages of a hilariously absurd yet oddly captivating journey in ‘Class Struggle’. The story dives into the mind-bending narrative that blurs the lines between fiction and academia. Discover a tale that veers from the mundane to the utterly bizarre, questioning the essence of writing and creativity itself.
‘I wake up. I cry some. I get dressed. Go to school. Try to, anyway. Car won’t start. Take the bus. Step in urine. Pool of it. On bus floor. I cry more. No one cares. I look around. Everyone looks away.’
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DownpourSJ FinnAustralia
Midway through a deluge, Reg and Cynthia open their front door to a stranger who will change their lives forever. Or perhaps their lives had already been changing for quite
some time and this visitor, who they welcome inside, is just the lynchpin they
needed to see it.‘And that’s where we’re at, the hatches battened down while the deluge hammers against the house when the doorbell goes, when a third party really does show up.’
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English at the End of TimeRawiya HoseinTrinidad and Tobago
‘English at the End of Time’ unfolds in a rural Trinidadian village during WW2’s apocalyptic upheaval. Amidst societal norms and personal trials, a determined woman, covertly embarks on mastering English literacy, guided by a self-taught teacher. The story unearths her losses, resilience, and the transformative power of language. Against historical turmoil, the narrative echoes themes of hope, autonomy, and human connection.
‘Mrs. Narine erased her answer, paused then rewrote her chosen verb. Ramdeen read the struggle on her face in the intensity of her eyes. They were always dark.’
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Fertile SoilKaterina GibsonAustralia
In a prestigious university town, a young woman grapples with a persistent sense of displacement. A night marked by an uncommon storm ushers in unexpected visitors—strangers who seem oddly familiar. These encounters stir an uncanny blend of déjà vu and longing.
‘Summer had come and with it some strange encounters around the city. At work, or at conferences, on the train, in the corridors before my night class, strangers would greet me, asking after me like a long lost cousin.’
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Genuine Human HairSharma TaylorJamaica
Spanning continents, two women navigate the complex realm of beauty through their hair. This tale delves into their unique struggles, unraveling a concealed link that binds them. Amidst their journeys, they unearth newfound strength, interlacing their lives in unexpected ways.
‘Me name Petal. That’s mi nickname ‘cause the man dem say mi pretty like flowers…like the one we have in Jamaica name ‘hibiscus.’ Well, mi pretty except fi mi picky-picky hair. Mi nah tell nuh lie. Mi head tough.’
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Granddaughter of the OctopusRémy NgamijeNamibia
In ‘Granddaughter of the Octopus,’ a compelling family saga unfolds, narrated through the lens of a woman’s relationships with eight distinct men. Shaped by her grandmother’s fierce independence and guidance, the protagonist navigates love, heartache, and the legacy of her ancestors.
‘As Ariel surrenders her voice I watch Ursula cackle with victory. The sight scares my sons. I smile, looking at this illustrated woman who so reminds me of my grandmother, the woman who had eight sons from eight different men.’
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HungerAndre BagooTrinidad and Tobago
Three months after a breakup, a lonely chef finds the perfect way to reignite his appetite for life: a tall, handsome, Venezuelan man. But what this new stranger has to offer might be too much to swallow.
‘You’d spent the day in bed crying, listening to Taylor Swift’s Folklore album like it was going out of style. You’d tried everything to regain your bearings after the breakup.’
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I Cleaned TheKanya D’AlmeidaSri Lanka
‘I Cleaned The—’, is a story about ‘dirty work’: domestic labour, abandonment, romantic encounters behind bathroom doors, and human waste.
‘She doesn’t actually have tuberculosis. The TB stands for tobacco; she says she became addicted to the stuff while wrapping beedis for a living when she was thirteen years old, and now her lungs are like the kitchen sponge, full of holes and black fungus.’
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It Ends with a KissRiddhi DastidarIndia
In a secluded world under an unyielding dome, a girl discovers a love that defies their surveillance-bound existence. She navigates the dichotomy of loss and newfound love.
‘The skylight room was where she met the girl. It was on the top floor, cordoned off from a side of the dome-top terrace where the adults had their high teas and celebrations.’
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Mass EffectJoshua WalesCanada
This poignant story follows Eddie and Ivan’s journey as they grapple with Ivan’s illness. Themes of love, intimacy, mortality, and the unpredictability of life are explored. Their playful interactions, emotional struggles, and moments of connection paint a vivid portrait of their relationship against the backdrop of impending tragedy. The story delves into the fragility of existence and the profound impact of love in the face of adversity.
‘Eddie starts counting when he notices the familiar hoarseness and irregularity of Ivan’s breathing. The doctor said they should find a hospital if the seizures last for more than two minutes.’
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OgbuefiVincent AniokeNigeria
A young boy confronts the weight of tradition and the intensity of transformation. As he approaches manhood, he faces the daunting prospect of becoming an Ogbuefi, a rite that involves sacrifice and deep symbolism.
‘When Papa returns home in the evening, I am curled up on the lemongrass carpet by the TV, watching cartoons. Red-tailed mice shuffle in widening circles, their arms interlocked, and Papa says, over their lilting chorus, ‘Chibuike, it is time. This weekend you will become an Ogbuefi.’’
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RabbitSamantha Lane MurphyAustralia
Dive into a world of sisters, where balance and survival are paramount. Promise contemplates the complexity of goodness and evil in a society built upon harmony, physical excellence, and balance. The story explores the tension between human instincts, survival, and the boundaries of morality in a unique and intricate society.
‘Later, when I talk to Mother, and I speak both of the rabbit killing and my feelings of admiration, she will explain: to quicken the suffering between death and life is good. I admire her because I am drawn to goodness.’
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some words ending in a sentencephill doranUnited Kingdom
The story relates the unresolved thoughts and memories of a man, traumatized as a small child by a family tragedy. The story delves into themes of language, family, violence, memory, and the complexities of human nature. Follow a family’s struggles, marked by domestic discord. The concept of parabola symbolizes the unexpected trajectories of life.
‘Parabolas are always described. When she threw the scissors at him, they described a parabola. As I say, I was small and could not articulate this. Not like that.’
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Starry NightCara MarksCanada
‘Starry Night’ unveils a narrative is a symphony of emotions, entwining youthful romance, existential contemplation, and the fragility of human connections against the backdrop of grief. Embark on a captivating exploration of life’s complexities and the bonds that carry us through its tumultuous currents.
‘When we smoke the weed, I think about Dad and death and sex and bunnies and poems. I wonder what this all has to do with philosophy, and if it’ll come up in Saint Augustine next week.’
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SubmissionNur KahnPakistan
A boy in boarding school has feelings for a senior and this physical intimacy, and the feelings that come from it, fly in the face of the boy’s faith. These competing devotions take a toll on this boy’s life and psyche.
‘His willingness to indulge me has taken a dive. There’s a menacing edge to his voice, all business.’
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Tetra Hydro CannabinolMoso SematlaneLesotho
In a small village in Lesotho, a young boy grapples with the arrival of a medical marijuana company. The story reflects themes of economic disparity, environmental impact, and personal frustration.
”You might have seen big trucks and men with helmets moving around here these past few months,’ the white man says. ‘That’s because we have built Lesotho’s first ever operational cannabis cultivation facility!”
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The Current ClimateAravind JayanIndia
In the midst of his new role, Mr. Chandru finds himself caught in a thought-provoking struggle with an unexpected element. In this narrative, the clash between tradition and modernity, personal beliefs and professional obligations unfolds.
‘The new branch manager, Mr. Chandru, noticed the idol as soon as he entered the bank. It stood on a white pedestal in the centre of the foyer, was about two feet tall and depicted Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha sitting together.’
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The Disappearance of Mumma DellRoland Watson-GrantJamaica
In a rural Jamaican district, the somber proceedings of a matriarch’s funeral take an unexpected turn as her body mysteriously vanishes, plunging the community into chaos. Meanwhile, the district itself faces an existential threat of vanishing from the map, adding a sense of urgency to their predicament.
‘Well, same time Brother Anthony jump into a taxi and leave me wonderin’ how a little name could frighten a big man so. Well he wasn’t the only one. When I look ‘round for somebody else to ask ‘bout Mumma Dell, people just start evaporate like morning dew.’
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The Woman; or EuryaleA. N. KingAustralia
Follow a story in a coastal village marked by tradition. A girl’s journey to womanhood takes on an uncanny twist. She comes to grips with her village’s ancient and terrible rites for attaining womanhood. Her transformation affects her physically and emotionally, while the village changes around her.
‘Young brides were still expected to sport a set of white and blue bracelets on the occasion in order to conjure the natural association between their ascension and the sun traversing the morning sky.’
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Tourism is our BusinessHeather BarkerBarbados
A middle-aged Barbadian teacher hosts long-stay guests in her coastal oasis as part of a national welcome scheme launched after a pandemic. When she meets a nightmare guest, she goes to extreme lengths to deal with him.
‘We did caught between a rock and a hard place. Not that that was unusual for a place bandied ‘bout by colonial forces. And the schemers spent more than the regular tourists.’
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TurnstonesCarol FarrellyUnited Kingdom
Amidst the beauty of a prestigious university, a young woman wrestles with the haunting notion of not truly belonging. As the night descends, a storm unleashes a troupe of unusual trespassers, forever altering her perception of herself and the world around her.
‘A sliver of night sky glinted. A finger of rain fell on the flagstones. A mottled brown bird darted past her and ducked beneath the turnstile, then hopped, all twiggy orange feet, onto the staircase. A turnstone, she thought.’
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WeedsLing LowMalaysia
Amid a pandemic lockdown, Wee Boon Ho’s life changes. Despite confinement, he discovers an unconventional source of solace. His covert encounters provide him with a sense of purpose and connection.
‘As the days went by, they spoke less and less. It didn’t matter. Wee didn’t expect much from anyone, family or otherwise. Since the divorce, he’d come to accept that his children belonged more to their mother.’
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A for AbortionFranklyn UsouwaNigeria
A pregnant teenager is forced to have an abortion by the abuser she believes she is in love with. She struggling to wrestle with her emotions of fear woven around her. The story sheds light on the complexities of power dynamics and the emotional turmoil that accompanies such situations.
‘I suspect Madu rented the Peugeot to disguise the true nature of our outing. He does not want one of Aunty Ugochi’s friends to spot his car parked outside Nne’s house. There is only one reason a married man visits Nne.’
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An Analysis of a Fragile AffairOla W. HalimNigeria
A delicate affair between a boy and a man unfolds. A young man battles the contradictions that his lover resents. He cloaks certain aspects of himself to maintain acceptance. Yet, the poignant question remains: how long can this delicate balance endure?
‘In the very beginning, the stage was empty. Only lights flickered and curtains swirled. Then a boy appeared, closely followed by a man, and it happened that they were having an affair or something close to that.’
This year’s judging panel
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Zoë Wicomb
ChairZoë Wicomb is a South African writer who lives in Glasgow, Scotland where she is Emeritus Professor at the University of Strathclyde. Her Race, Nation, Translation: South African Essays was published in 2018. For her fictional works –– You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town; David’s Story; Playing in the Light; The One That Got Away; and October ––Wicomb received Yale’s inaugural Windham-Campbell Prize. Her novel Still Life will be published in September 2020 by Penguin Random House, Cape Town and The New Press, New York.
Wicomb has previously been a judge for the International Dublin Literary Award and has chaired the Caine Prize as well as the Windham-Campbell Prize judging panels.
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Photo by Femke van Zeijl
A. Igoni Barrett
Judge, African RegionA. Igoni Barrett was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and lives in Lagos. His fiction has been published in 14 countries. Love is Power, or Something Like That, his second short story collection, was selected by NPR as a best book of 2013. His first novel, Blackass, published in 2015, was nominated for the PEN Open Book Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, the FT/OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Awards, the Kitschies Golden Tentacle Award, and the Nommo Award for Best Novel. In 2016 Blackass was chosen by the Chinese Foreign Literature Society as a winner of its 21st Century Best Foreign Novel Award.
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Khademul Islam
Judge, Asia RegionKhademul Islam is a writer, translator and editor based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was the literary editor of two dailies (Dhaka Tribune and Daily Star), where he encouraged English translations in Bangladesh. He is the Director of Bengal Lights Books publications, a board member of Dhaka Translation Centre, and the editor of the literary journal Bengal Lights. He has published two books of English translations of Bengali short fiction and poems. His short stories have been included in anthologies, and he is a frequent contributor to national and international publications. He is currently working on a non-fiction book to be published by Bloomsbury UK.
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Keith Jarrett
Judge, Canada and Europe RegionKeith Jarrett lives and works in London. Poet and fiction writer, he is currently a PhD scholar at Birkbeck, University of London, where he is completing his first novel, exploring the migration of religion from the Caribbean to London. Keith is a former UK Poetry Slam Champion; he also won the International Slam Championship at FLUPP in Rio. His short stories have appeared in anthologies and magazines, including Attitude and Tell Tales IV, with influences ranging from Caribbean trickster figures to Latin American surrealism. His play, Safest Spot in Town, was performed at the Old Vic and on BBC Four in 2017 as part of the Queers series. His book of poetry, Selah, was also published last year with Burning Eye.
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Diana McCaulay
Judge, Carribean RegionDiana McCaulay is a Jamaican environmental activist and award-winning writer. She is the founder and Chair of the Jamaica Environment Trust and has published four novels – Dog-Heart, Huracan (Peepal Tree Press), Gone to Drift (Papillote Press and HarperCollins) and White Liver Gal (self published). Her forthcoming fifth novel, Daylight Come, is published by Peepal Tree Press in September 2020. Her short fiction and non fiction have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including Granta, Jamaica Journal, Adda Stories, Eleven Eleven, SCOOP the magazine, and the Griffith Review. She won the Hollick Arvon Prize for non fiction in 2014 for her work-in-progress, a creative non fiction book entitled Loving Jamaica. She was the regional winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2012, for her story ‘The Dolphin Catchers’.
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Tina Makereti (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi)
Judge, Pacific RegionTina Makereti (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi) writes essays, novels and short fiction. She is author of The Imaginary Lives of James Pōneke, Where the Rēkohu Bone Sings and Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa, and in 2017 she co-edited Black Marks on the White Page, an anthology that celebrates Māori and Pasifika writing, with Witi Ihimaera. In 2016 her story ‘Black Milk’ won the Pacific region Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize. Tina teaches creative writing and English at Victoria University of Wellington, and has recently completed a collection of personal essays, This Compulsion in Us.
Frequently asked questions
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The prize is open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and over – please see the full list of Commonwealth countries here.
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The regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives a total of £5,000. The winning stories are published online by Granta and in a special print collection by Paper + Ink. The shortlisted stories are published in adda, the online literary magazine of the Commonwealth Foundation.
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The story must be between 2,000 and 5,000 words.
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The prize is only open to short fiction, but it can be in any fiction genre–science fiction, speculative fiction, historical fiction, crime, romance, literary fiction–and you may write about any subject you wish.
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Submissions are accepted in Bengali, Chinese, Creole, English, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil, and Turkish. Stories that have been translated into English from any language are also accepted and the translator of any winning story receives additional prize money.
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Your submission must be unpublished in any print or online publication, with the exception of personal websites.
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Entries are initially assessed by a team of readers and a longlist of 200 entries is put before the international judging panel, comprising a chair and five judges, one from each of the Commonwealth regions – Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. All judges read entries from all regions.
Entries in other languages are assessed by relevant language readers and the best submissions are selected for translation into English to be considered for inclusion on the longlist.
The judging panel select a shortlist of around twenty stories, from which five regional winners are chosen, one of which is chosen as the overall winner.
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