2019 Commonwealth short story prize entries on

The Commonwealth short story prize which is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000 to 5,000 words) is now open for entries.

According to a press release from the Commonwealth Foundation in London, United Kingdom, the prize is open to Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and over, and entries will close on November, 1.

"The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is for the best piece of unpublished short fiction. As well as being open to entries in English and translated into English from any language, it is the only literary prize in the world where entries can be submitted in Bengali, Chinese, Malay, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, and Tamil," reads the press release.

The judges choose a winner from each of the five Commonwealth regions - Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific - one of which is selected as the overall winner. Regional winners receive £2,500 GBP and the overall winner receives £5,000 GBP. All winners are published by Granta online, and selected shortlisted stories on adda, Commonwealth Writers' online magazine of international writing.

"Granta is a quarterly literary magazine of new writing. Published in book format, each issue includes stories, essays, memoir, poetry and art centered around a theme. Throughout its long history, Granta has published the most significant writers of our time featuring work by writers including Julian Barnes, Edwidge Danticat, Kazuo Ishiguro, Salman Rushdie, Santiago Roncagliolo, David Mitchell, Lorrie Moore, Zadie Smith, Jeanette Winterson and more," reads the press release.

Last year's Chair of judges, the British novelist Sarah Hall, said of the prize: "This is such a great, unique prize, one that seeks to uphold literary community and particularity, crossing borders with the ambition of collating our common and unique stories."

Kevin Jared Hosein, winner of the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, said, "The prize jump-started my literary career and for that I am extremely grateful. The entries that are lauded and selected are diverse in not just character, but style and genre. Entering the Commonwealth Short Story Prize is one of the best things you can do as an aspiring author."

Writers who are Commonwealth citizens may enter their stories online at www.commonwealthwriters.org/our-projects/the-short-story.