Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2025 shortlists announced

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2025 shortlists were announced in London, UK, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Here are the writers of African descent who made the shortlist.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction in English in the regions of Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Each of these winners is then eligible for the global prize. Some previous winners in the Africa region have been Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (2014), Lesley Nneka Arimah (2015), Faraaz Mahomed (2016), Akwaeke Emezi (2017), Efua Traoré (2018), Mbozi Haimbe (2019), Innocent Chizaram Ilo (2020), Rémy Ngamije and Roland Watson-Grant (2021), Ntsika Kota (2022), Kwame McPherson and Hana Gammon (2023), and Reena and Portia Subran (2024). Global winners include Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (2014) and Kwame McPherson (2023).

The 2025 jury is chaired by Fijian writer and filmmaker Dr Vilsoni Hereniko alongside Cameroonian author, poet and scholar Nsah Mala (Africa); Malaysian writer and 2019 Asia regional winner Saras Manickam (Asia); British writer and journalist Dr Anita Sethi (Canada and Europe); writer, editor and comedian Lisa Allen-Agostini from Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean); and poet, actor, musician and writer Apirana Taylor from Aotearoa/New Zealand (Pacific).

This jury read through 7,920 entries from 54 Commonwealth countries, selected shortlists with writers aged 21 to 75, and announced them on Tuesday, April 15.

Chair of the Judges, Dr Vilsoni Hereniko said: ‘A great story moves us, causes us to think, and sometimes changes us. When a whole life, or a slice of life, is distilled into a short story, we marvel at the writer’s ability to find the perfect sequence of events and fit them into the short story form. This shortlist of relevant, vibrant, and essential reading is made up of the best 25 stories from a pool of almost 8,000 entries. Together, they demonstrate why the short story form must continue to be supported and promoted. As chair, and on behalf of the esteemed jury, I congratulate and thank the Commonwealth Foundation for keeping this competition alive and thriving.’

Africa

• ‘The Flute Player, Priscilla Ametorpe Goka (Ghana)
• A Room Full of Teddy Bears, Dorechi (Kenya)
• The Sun isn’t Dead Yet, Vashish Jaunky (Mauritius) (translated by Edwige-Renée Dro from the French, ‘Le soleil n’est pas encore mort’)
• The mothers, Olákìtán T. Aládéṣuyì (Nigeria)
• Broken String, Stephen M. Finn (South Africa)
• Mothers Not Appearing in Search, Joshua Lubwama (Uganda)

Caribbean

• Jumbie Pond, Joanne C. Hillhouse (Antigua and Barbuda)
• Margot’s Run, Subraj Singh (Guyana)
• Pomp and Circumstance, Kellie Magnus (Jamaica)
• Redeye Cat, Jessie Mayers (Saint Lucia)

Canada and Europe

• Descend, Chanel Sutherland (Canada/Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

The judges will announce the regional winners, who will be published online by the literary magazine Granta, on Wednesday, May 14. The overall winner will be revealed at a ceremony on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.