Commonwealth Short Story Prize regional winners announced
By CityLife Arts Writer
The popular annual Commonwealth Short Story Prize has announced the regional winners of this popular literary event among writers of the Commonwealth Countries. “We’re thrilled to unveil this year’s five winning stories composed by brilliant storytellers from across the Commonwealth’s five regions. Writing is hard. Writing well is harder still. It takes skill, persistence and courage.
That’s why winning the prize is such a huge achievement. Take the next few minutes to read about the winners and congratulate the writer from your region by leaving a comment on Instagram,” the organisers said in a media statement following the release of the names of the regional winners.
Africa region
Joshua Lubwama (Uganda), ‘Mothers Not Appearing in Search’
Joshua is a 25-year-old software engineer and writer based in Kampala. Longlisted for the prize last year, his work has appeared in ‘The Anatomy of Flying Things’ and ‘Travelling Men Don’t Die’.
Asia region
Faria Basher (Bangladesh), ‘An Eye and a Leg’
A Bengali writer who has lived across continents, Faria is drawn to the offbeat, the absurd and the odd. She holds degrees from the University of Edinburgh and NYU.
Canada and Europe region
Chanel Sutherland (Canada and St Vincent and the Grenadines), ‘Descend’
A writer of fiction and creative nonfiction, Chanel won the 2021 CBC Nonfiction Prize and the 2022 CBC Short Story Prize, and was named one of 30 Writers to Watch in 2022. Her debut short story collection, ‘Layaway Child’, will be published by House of Anansi in 2026.
Caribbean region
Subraj Singh (Guyana), ‘Margot’s Run’
Subraj holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. He’s an alum of Clarion West and Tin House and a former resident of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. His fiction has appeared in ‘AGNI’, ‘New England Review’, and ‘Gulf Coast Journal’.
Pacific region
Kathleen Ridgwell (Australia), ‘Crab Sticks and Lobster Rolls’
Based in Perth, Kathleen was runner-up in the 2024 EM Fletcher Award for her short story ‘The Emerald Dove’. She has spent her career working in community services advocating for disadvantaged and vulnerable people. She writes to amplify the voices of those often unheard