Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2017 now open for entries

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2017 is now open for entries.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction in countries that are members of the Commonwealth. This means countries from the five different regions that Great Britain invaded and colonized; Africa, Asia, Canada, and Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific. This prize started in 2012 is what was left of the ashes of what was called the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize that was discontinued in 2011.

In the last few years the winners of the prize were Faraaz Mahomed (2016), Lesley Nneka Arimah (2015) and Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (2014), Julian Jackson (2013) and Jekwu Anyaegbuna (2012). In her year, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi went on to win the global prize.

The international judging panel comprises one judge from each of the five regions – Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Please note that while the entries will be judged regionally, all judges will read and deliberate on entries from all regions. Regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £5,000.

Short stories translated into English from other languages are also eligible, and we invite writers from Mozambique who write in Portuguese, and writers who write in Samoan, Swahili and Bengali, and who do not have an English translation of their story, to submit their stories in the original language.

So you want in? With the Brexit that happened earlier in the year, your submission will a long way to reminding the United Kingdom that they are still an important world power. You must surely have something floating around your hard disc that could help our British friends remember the good old days of empire.

UPDATE: Submissions for have now been closed.