- Caribbean shortlist consists of 5 writers from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and, for the primary time, St Kitts and Nevis islands. All are shortlisted for the primary time, and their tales characteristic strongly-drawn characters together with a younger man present process gender transition, a mom reflecting on her violent son, and a fromer reggae star
- World’s most international literature prize shortlists 23 writers from 13 international locations – all however one in all whom are shortlisted for the primary time
- Judges hail ‘a dream record’ which is able to go away readers ‘startled and shocked, heartbroken and humbled in equal measure’
- Tales vary from romances and speculative fiction, to household dramas and coming of age tales, and handle a spread of matters from motherhood and bereavement to psychological sickness and forbidden love
A world judging panel has shortlisted twenty-three excellent tales for the world’s most international literature prize. The shortlisted writers hail from 13 international locations throughout the Commonwealth and their formidable tales span continents and a long time. Lots of the tales are informed by way of the eyes of kids—tales of fogeys splitting up, of faculty, and of the typically baffling behaviour of adults round them. Older characters additionally seem—typically harmful, typically inspiring. 5 of the tales mirror on motherhood in very alternative ways. Others inform of forbidden love in a hostile world. Subjects vary from music, soccer, artwork, movie, the affect of electrical energy arriving in a village, and even one girl’s ardour for tea. Whereas romance and thrillers characteristic prominently, almost 1 / 4 of the shortlisted tales are speculative fiction.
The Commonwealth Quick Story Prize is awarded yearly for the most effective piece of unpublished brief fiction from any of the Commonwealth’s 56 Member States. It’s the most accessible and worldwide of all writing competitions: along with English, entries will be submitted in Bengali, Chinese language, Creole, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil, and Turkish. Such linguistic variety in a brief story prize partially displays the richness of the Commonwealth, not least its many and assorted literary traditions. This yr, 414 entries have been submitted in languages aside from English.
The tales on the 2024 shortlist have been chosen from a complete of seven,359 entries from 53 Commonwealth international locations—a ten per cent improve as in comparison with 2023. Three small Commonwealth international locations—Mauritius, Rwanda and St Kitts and Nevis have authors on the shortlist for the primary time. The shortlisted writers—6 males, 15 girls and a couple of who determine as non-binary—vary in age from 26 to 70. And all however one have by no means been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Quick Story Prize earlier than.
Chair of the Judges, Ugandan-British novelist and brief story author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi says: ‘It is a dream record for lovers of the brief story type—readers who want to learn around the globe, writers who want to hone their expertise, brokers in search of expertise and content material creators who relish the problem of predicting regional winners and the general winner. Whether or not studying tales from Africa and Asia, by way of Europe and Canada to the Caribbean Islands and the Pacific, you’ll be amazed and thrilled, startled and shocked, and heartbroken and humbled in equal measure by the ability and expertise, creativeness and creativity, by the pliability of the shape and what it’s able to, and by what the world is doing with the English language. For the judging panel, it has been an unbelievable literary journey.’
Dr Anne T. Gallagher AO, Director-Common of the Commonwealth Basis, the intergovernmental organisation which administers the prize, counseled everybody who entered tales in 2024, including: ‘The Quick Story Prize is known for unearthing and nurturing the wealthy artistic expertise of our Commonwealth. This yr is not any exception and I’ve been overwhelmed by the depth and attain of the 2024 shortlist. My congratulations to the 23 writers whose tales will now safe a really international viewers. And I provide my warmest encouragement to the remaining 7,336 entrants to maintain on writing. At the moment, maybe greater than ever, it’s storytelling that may assist encourage the love, compassion and understanding that our world so desperately wants.’
The 2024 shortlist in full:
AFRICA
‘Fadi’ by Azags Agandaa (Ghana)
‘Dite’ by Reena (Mauritius)
‘Home No. 49’ by Olajide Omojarabi (Nigeria)
‘The Goat’ by Jean Pierre Nikuze (Rwanda)
‘A Track Sung in Secret’ by Jayne Bauling (South Africa)
ASIA
‘Mom Could I’ by Ajay Patri (India)
‘Thambi, Thambi’ by Bharath Kumar (India)
‘Aishwarya Rai’ by Sanjana Thakur (India)
‘The Girl Upstairs’ by Audrey Tan (Singapore)
CANADA AND EUROPE
‘When Issues Finish by ‘Sarah Balakrishnan (Canada)
‘What Burns’ by Julie Bouchard (Canada) (translated by Arielle Aaronson from the French, Ce Qui Brûle)
‘Your Personal Expensive, Obedient Daughters’ by F.E. Choe (Canada)
‘Milk’ by Eaton Hamilton (Canada)
‘Sookie Woodrow Goes to Heaven’ by Ceilidh Michelle (Canada)
CARIBBEAN
‘You Had Me at Aloe’ by Ark Ramsay (Barbados)
‘The Marriage Proposal’ by Heather Archibald (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
‘Wrinkle Launch’ by Stefan Bindley-Taylor (Trinidad and Tobago)
‘Terre Brulée’ by Celeste Mohammed (Trinidad and Tobago)
‘The Satan’s Son’ by Portia Subran (Trinidad and Tobago)
PACIFIC
‘No one Owns a Fireplace’ by Jennifer Severn (Australia)
‘Mananangal’ by M Donato (New Zealand)
‘A River Then the Street’ by Pip Robertson (New Zealand)
‘So Clear’ by Anna Woods (New Zealand)
