The Commonwealth Foundation is rewriting the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and Short Story Competition, as well as introducing a new range of cultural programmes for 2012.
In January, two panels of judges will begin their task of reading, shortlisting and finally selecting the winners for the new-look Commonwealth Writers Prize and Short Story Competition. To bring these two prestigious literary awards into the 21st century, the Commonwealth Foundation has modernised and repositioned them under the banner: Commonwealth Writers – A World of New Fiction.
The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize celebrated its 25th birthday in 2011. It was initially given to the best book written by an author of Commonwealth origin and was intended to highlight the cultural talent and diversity within the Commonwealth. The Best First Book Prize was added in 1989. This year the prize will be awarded only for best first novel – there will no longer be a Best Book category. Today, in a crowded field of literary awards the revitalised Commonwealth Book Prize is forging a new and singular identity.
Chair of the judges, the award-winning writer, editor and critic, Margaret Busby, says, “It is vital to encourage and celebrate the talent of newly emerging novelists whose words have the potential to inspire and enrich the entire literary world. Searching out and promoting the best first books of fiction internationally is a serious task, a great honour and a wonderful challenge.” Adding, “The significance of a prize such as this becomes greater with each year.” The Book Prize is open to writers who have had their first novel published between 1 January and 31 December 2011. The overall winner will receive £10,000 with four regional runners up receiving £2,500 each.
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize has remained largely unchanged since it was first awarded in 1996. Run in partnership with the Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation, it sought to find the best short stories (600 words maximum) for radio – 26 winning entries were recorded and broadcast across the Commonwealth. This year the prize will be given to the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000- 5,000 words). Four regional winners will be awarded £1,000 with the overall winner receiving £5,000. Bernadine Evaristo, an award-winning poet, novelist and editor, will be chairing the judging panel. “This wonderful prize will turn the spotlight on the increasingly popular short story form and aims to support and encourage short story writers worldwide,” she says.
In making these changes to its awards, the Commonwealth Foundation believes that it has preserved the strongest elements of the prizes, while at the same time putting them on the contemporary map of international new fiction.
Commonwealth Writers aims to unearth writers with an original voice and stories to tell. It hopes to promote and connect new writing talent across the 54 member states, facilitating on-the ground creative writing activities led by the regional winners within their communities. Over the next few months, the Commonwealth Foundation will work in partnership with international writers’ organisations and civil society to help new writers develop their craft. The prizes and outreach activities will act as catalysts to target and identify talented writers from different regions who will go on to inspire and inform their local communities.
In addition, the programme will also explore what being ‘published’ means in the 21st century. It is particularly interested in how writers can use technology to find a readership in different parts of the world and in the way writers can effectively utilise online publishing networks. Meanwhile, www.commonwealthwriters.org will be an online hub to inspire, inform and motivate distinctive new voices.
