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The Commonwealth Short Story Prize Regional Winners

The 2024 Commonwealth Short Prize Regional winners have been announced.

According to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, this year’s prize attracted the highest number of entrants ever, and the winners were all nominated for the first time.  The winning stories carry readers from a small village in Trinidad to a lonely motel in New Zealand via northern Canada, Mumbai, and Mauritius. Themes range from love and loss to troubled relationships with parents and a woman’s love of tea. Two draw upon historical events: the 2023 wildfires in Canada and the day electricity came to a remote village in Trinidad.

The chair of the Judges,  Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, said,  ‘The short story form has neither the luxury of time nor the comfort of space. It is an impatient form; it does not dance around. The punch of a good short story leaves you breathless. As the judging panel, we enjoyed, sorrowed, celebrated and eventually agreed that these stories came up on top of the different regions.’

The five regional winners will advance to the final round of judging, and the overall winner will be announced on June 26, 2024.

The 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Regional winners are:
  • Reena Usha Rungoo (Mauritius) for the Africa region.
  • Sanjana Thakur (India) for the Asia region.
  • Julie Bouchard (Canada) for the Canada and Europe region.
  • Portia Subran (Trinidad and Tobago) for the Caribbean region.
  • Pip Robertson (New Zealand) for the Pacific region.

Congratulations to the winners!

Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam

Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam writes prose fiction and creative non-fiction. She is the founder of creativewritingnews.com. Her first novella, Finding Love Again was published by Ankara Press. Her second novella, The Heiress' Bodyguard was shortlisted for the Saraba Manuscript Awards. She currently works as content marketer for various online businesses. You can follow her at @cwritingnws.

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