Two writers from India – Parul Kaushik and Tino de Sa – and one each from Bangladesh – Faria Basher – and Pakistan – Tahoor Bari – have been shortlisted for the The Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Asian region.
The prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction from any of the Commonwealth’s 56 Member States. Regional winners (Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean, and Pacific) each receive £2,500, and the overall winner receives £5,000. The regional winners will be announced on May 14 and the overall winner on June 25 at an in-person award ceremony.
The shortlist of 18 writers from 25 countries was selected from almost 8,000 entries. The shortlisted stories range from historical fiction to satire and crime and speculative writing, to family dramas and coming-of-age stories. The stories also tackle topics such as human trafficking, war and bereavement to motherhood, unlikely friendships and unexpected love.
In addition to English, the Prize also accepts submissions in Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil, and Turkish.
Two Commonwealth countries – Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia – have authors on the shortlist for the first time. The shortlisted writers range in age from 21 to 75, and all but one have never been shortlisted for the Prize before.
The writes on the four-strong Asian shortlist are:
“Mrs Gaonkar’s Girls” by Parul Kaushik (India)
“Tamarind” by Tino de Sa (India)
“An Eye and a Leg” by Faria Basher (Bangladesh)
“The Dot” by Tahoor Bari (Pakistan)
The other shortlisted writers are:
Africa
“The Flute Player” by Priscilla Ametorpe Goka (Ghana)
“A Room Full of Teddy Bears” by Dorechi (Kenya)
“The Sun isn’t Dead Yet” by Vashish Jaunky (Mauritius), translated by Edwige-Renée Dro from the French, “Le soleil n'est pas encore mort”
“The Mothers” by Olákìtán T Aládéṣuyì (Nigeria)
“Broken String” by Stephen M Finn (South Africa)
“Mothers Not Appearing in Search” by Joshua Lubwama (Uganda)
Canada and Europe
“Descend” by Chanel Sutherland (Canada/Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
“Nualu Nu” by Damhnait Monaghan (Canada/Ireland)
“The Crossing” by David Frankel (United Kingdom)
“Bread and Butter” by Dushi Rasiah (United Kingdom)
“Beasts” by Tess Little (United Kingdom)
Carribean
“Jumbie Pond” by Joanne C Hillhouse (Antigua and Barbuda)
“Margot’s Run” by Subraj Singh (Guyana)
“Pomp and Circumstance” by Kellie Magnus (Jamaica)
“Redeye Cat” by Jessie Mayers (Saint Lucia)
Pacific
“Crab Sticks and Lobster Rolls” by Kathleen Ridgwell (Australia)
“The Drum and the Bell” by Keith Goh Johnson (Australia)
“Threads of Truth” by Lachlan Alexander (Australia)
“The Pale Blue Dot” by Angela Pope (New Zealand)
“We’ll Meet Again” by Maria Samuela (New Zealand)
“Final Effort of the Wind” by Gillian Leasunia Katoanga (Samoa/New Zealand)
Five judges drawn from the five regions of the Commonwealth join the chair, Dr Vilsoni Hereniko, on the panel. They are: Cameroonian author, poet and scholar Nsah Mala (Africa); Malaysian writer and 2019 Asia regional winner Saras Manickam (Asia); British writer and journalist Dr Anita Sethi (Canada and Europe); writer, editor and comedian Lisa Allen-Agostini from Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean); and poet, actor, musician and writer Apirana Taylor from Aotearoa/New Zealand (Pacific).
