Commonwealth Prize Short Story Competition 2025
Writer and filmmaker Vilsoni Hereniko from Rotuma, Fiji will chair the panel of judges for the 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, which has opened for entries.
Hereniko's fellow judges, drawn from the five regions of the Commonwealth, will be: Cameroonian author, poet and scholar Nsah Mala (Africa); Malaysian writer and 2019 Asia regional winner Saras Manickam (Asia); Nigerian-British author Irenosen Okojie (Canada and Europe); writer, editor and stand-up comic Lisa Allen-Agostini from Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean); and poet, actor, musician and writer Apirana Taylor from Aotearoa/New Zealand (Pacific).
Five regional winners receive £2,500, and the winner will receive £5,000. The prize, administered by the Commonwealth Foundation, is open to citizens of all Commonwealth countries aged 18 and over, and is free to enter.
Submissions should be a short story of 2,000-5,000 words.
In addition to English, submissions are accepted in Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil, and Turkish. Stories that have been translated into English from any language are also accepted, and the translator of any story that wins (regional or overall) also receives prize money.
The closing date for entries is 2 November.
The five regional winners are published online by Granta and in a print collection from Paper + Ink. The shortlisted stories will appear in the Commonwealth Foundation's online literary magazine adda.
