2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize award ceremony

About the event

This event will celebrate the five regional winners of the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize from The Bahamas, Cyprus, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Zambia, one of whom will be announced as the overall winner. This is the first time the Commonwealth Short Story Prize has been announced in North America.

The British novelist, playwright and essayist Caryl Phillips—the 2019 Chair of Judges—will present the award to this year’s winner of the world’s most global literary prize. We will be joined by the eminent Canadian writers Erika Soucy and Christiane Vadnais.

In our continued support of the rich, diverse stories and narratives of the Commonwealth, a winner has been chosen from each region and this year a translator is also awarded; the first time a translated entry is among the top stories.

The evening’s readings will be accompanied by music from Catherine Lefrançois and we are grateful to Maison de la litterature for helping us programme this wonderful evening and to the Conseil des arts et des lettres and the City of Quebec for their support.

The night will finish with performances from the Kwahiatonhk! group, including Josephine Bacon, Christiane Vadnais, Naomi Fontaine, and Andree Levesque-Sioui.

For more information and updates please visit the Commonwealth Writers website.

You can read more about the regional winners here.