The Commonwealth Writers Organisation is pleased to announce its Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2023 for promising international writers. Applications can be made in the ongoing academic year 2022-2023.

The competition program established by the Commonwealth Writers is free to participate in and available to any citizen of a Commonwealth country aged 18 and over. The competition prize is granted for the best piece of unpublished short fiction in English and other languages. The prize has been valued at a maximum of £5,000, and the story will be published online by Granta magazine.

Commonwealth Writers is the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation, which inspires and connects writers and storytellers worldwide, bringing personal stories to a global audience. They believe in the transformative power of creative expression in all its forms.

The organizational activities occur in Commonwealth countries, but its community is global. Commonwealth Writers work with local and international partners to identify and deliver a wide range of cultural projects. Though the organization shares many elements of a complex history, it is divided by geography, and Commonwealth Writers provides diverse spaces for exchanging ideas.

Application Deadline: 1 November 2022. 

Brief Description

• University or Organization: Commonwealth Writers Department: NA
• Course Level: Competition
• Award: Up to £15,000
• Number of Awards:5
• Access Mode: Online
• Nationality: International and Domestic
• The award can be taken in the United Kingdom.

Eligibility

• Eligible Countries: Students from Africa, Asia, Canada & Europe, the Caribbean, Pacific, Such as Botswana, Cameroon, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia. Overseas Territories: Saint Helena, Tristan Da Cunha, Ascension Island, Canada, Cyprus, Malta, United Kingdom. Overseas Territories: Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent, and the Grenadines, Trinidad, and Tobago. Overseas Territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Overseas Territories: Cook Islands, Niue, and Pitcairn can apply.
• Eligible Course or Subjects: Students from any subject can apply for the Commonwealth Short Story Competition.
• Eligibility Criteria: The applicants must meet all the following:
• The applicants must be citizens of Commonwealth countries.
• The applicants must be aged 18 years or over on 1 November 2022.

How to Apply

2023-CSSP-Eligibility-Entry-Rules

• How to Apply: The applicants must upload their entry as a PDF document with the story’s title as the file name online to apply to the competition.
• Supporting Documents: The applicants must submit a short story of 2,000 words minimum and 5,000 words maximum and upload it in PDF format.
• Admission Requirements: The applicants must submit original work not published elsewhere and refrain from submitting previously submitted story entries.
• Language Requirement: The applicants are expected to know the English language. However, entries will also be accepted in Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Kiswahili, Malay, Portuguese, Samoan, Tamil, and Turkish.

Benefits

• The Commonwealth Writers Organisation will present the selected winners an award worth £5,000 and the remaining four regional winners £2,500.
• The translator will receive additional prize money if the winning short story is translated into English.

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