Apply for 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize

The search for some of the Commonwealth’s best short story writers has begun again. Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and over can enter a short story of 2000-5000 words for a chance to win £5,000.

Submission Deadline: 2 November 2024, 12pm GMT

Apply here.

About the Prize:

• Open for submissions until 1 November 2024.
• Free to enter.
• Open to citizens of Commonwealth countries aged 18 and over.
• Awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000–5,000 words).

Prize Details:

• Entries should be made via the online entry form available on the website.
• An international judging panel will select a shortlist of around twenty stories.
• Five regional winners will be chosen, with one selected as the overall winner who receives £5,000.
• Regional winners will receive £2,500.
• All five regional winning stories will be published on Granta.

Entry Rules:

• Entries must be submitted online by 1 November 2024.
• Entries must be original, unpublished works.
• Only one entry per writer each year.
• Entries should be between 2,000 and 5,000 words.
• Entries must be uploaded in PDF format.

Eligibility:

• Entrants must be citizens of a Commonwealth country.
• Entrants must be aged 18 years or over on 1 November 2024.
• Entries from citizens of non-Commonwealth countries are not eligible.
• Entries from prior winners of the prize or current staff members of the Commonwealth Foundation are not eligible.

Contact Details: For any questions, email: creatives@commonwealthfoundation.com

Prize Regions:

• Africa: Botswana, Cameroon, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia. Overseas Territories: Saint Helena, Tristan Da Cunha, Ascension Island.
• Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka
• Canada and Europe: Canada, Cyprus, Malta, United Kingdom. Overseas Territories: Gibraltar, Falkland Islands.
• Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago. Overseas Territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands.
• Pacific: Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Overseas Territories: Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn.