Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Commonwealth Countries 2023

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000–5,000 words) in English written by a citizen of a Commonwealth country. 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.

• Table of Content
• About Commonwealth Writers
• Commonwealth Short Story Prize
• Aim and Benefits of Commonwealth Short Story Prize
• Requirements for Commonwealth Short Story Prize Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for Commonwealth Short Story Prize
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Commonwealth Writers

Commonwealth Writers is the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation. We inspire and connect writers and storytellers across the world, bringing personal stories to a global audience. Commonwealth Writers believes in the transformative power of creative expression in all its forms. We work with local and international partners to identify and deliver a wide range of cultural projects. Our activities take place in Commonwealth countries, but our community is global.... continue reading

Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Aim and Benefits of Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £5,000.

Requirements for Commonwealth Short Story Prize Qualification

To be eligible for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, candidates must:

• have an unpublished short fiction (2,000–5,000 words)
• be a member of a Commonwealth country
• For regional purposes, entries will be judged by country of citizenship. Where the writer has dual citizenship, the entry will be judged in the region where the writer is permanently resident.
•  must be aged 18 years or over on 1 November 2022.
• There is no requirement for the writer to have current residence in a Commonwealth country, providing she/he is a citizen of a Commonwealth country.

All entries of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize will be accepted at the discretion of the Commonwealth Foundation which will exercise its judgement, in consultation with the prize chair as necessary, in ruling on questions of eligibility. The ruling of the chair on questions of eligibility is final, and no further correspondence will be entered into.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Commonwealth Short Story Prize

The international judging panel comprises one judge from each of the five regions – Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific. While the entries will be judged regionally, all judges will read and deliberate on entries from all regions.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Before you enter your story, do make sure you read the eligibility and entry guidelines.

For more details, visit Commonwealth writers website.