Commonwealth Writers Short Story shortlist announced - two NZ authors make shortlist

30.04.14 | Caroline Carpenter - The Bookseller

The prize provides a platform for writers from the 53 countries of the Commonwealth to share unpublished work with a wider audience.
Regional winners for the Commonwealth Short Story prize will be announced on 14 May for each of the five regions: Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The overall winner will be announced in Kampala, Uganda, on 13 June to coincide with a series of Commonwealth Writers initiatives in East Africa.

This year, unpublished stories were entered by almost 4,000 writers from the five regions of the Commonwealth. For the first time, entries were received from the Cayman Islands, Mozambique, Swaziland and Tonga.

The judges for the Prize reflect the five regions with Doreen Baingana from Africa, Michelle de Kretser from the Pacific, Marlon James from Caribbean, Courttia Newland representing Canada and Europe, and Jeet Thayil representing Asia. The chair is Ellah Allfrey, who is deputy chair of the Council of the Caine Prize and was previously deputy editor of Granta and senior editor at Jonathan Cape, Random House. 

Allfrey said of this year’s shortlist: “This year it has been rewarding to see the ambition, skill and imaginations of writers across the Commonwealth displayed in works that cover a dazzling range of subjects. These are stories of rage and of love, of sexual experimentation and adventure; there are strong genre pieces and stories in which the voice of a character transports the reader to another time and place. Above all, the shortlist provides a glorious ride across continents and into the imaginations of writers whose work illustrates the power of a short story to inform, to challenge and to entertain.”

Lucy Hannah, programme manager, Commonwealth Writers, commented: "This year Commonwealth Writers focused its energies on one prize only - the short story. We're thrilled that entries have risen by more than fifty per cent and our geographical reach has attracted more stories from writers in countries with little or no publishing infrastructure. We're committed to growing the reach and diversity of the prize to mark the enduring appeal of the short story."

This year, Commonwealth Writers has begun a new association with the London-based literary and media agency Blake Friedmann, who will work with selected writers identified through the Prize. It will also continue its partnership with Granta to give the overall and regional winners of the 2014 Prize the opportunity to have their story edited and published by Granta online.
The full list of shortlisted stories and authors is:

Africa
"Ikanre" by Adelehin Ijasan, Nigeria
"All Them Savages" by Michelle Sacks, South Africa
"Let's Tell This Story Properly" by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Uganda

Asia
"Grandmother" by Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, Singapore
"A Day in the Death" by Sara Adam Ang, Singapore

Canada and Europe
"On The Other Side" by Idrissa Simmonds, Canada
"The Night of Broken Glass" by Jack Wang, Canada
"Household Gods" by Tracy Fells, United Kingdom
"Killing Time" by Lucy Caldwell, United Kingdom
"Agnes Agnes Agnes" by Luiza Sauma, United Kingdom

Caribbean
"Cowboy" by Helen Klonaris, Bahamas
"Sending for Chantal" by Maggie Harris, Guyana
"Miss Annie Cooks Fish" by Charmaine Rousseau, Trinidad and Tobago

Pacific
"Monkey Boy" by Janine Mikosza, Australia
"Playing the Stringless Guitar" by Michael Hunt, Australia
"Hummingbird" by Daniel Anders, Australia
"The Dog and the Sea" by Lucy Treloar, Australia
"Tenure" by Julian Novitz, New Zealand
"Rhododendrons in Mist" by David Herkt, New Zealand