There will be five winners, one from each region. One regional winner will be selected as the overall winner. The overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive £5,000 and the remaining four regional winners £2,500. If the winning short story is a translation into English, the translator will receive additional prize money.

To be eligible for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize:

1. Entrants must be citizens of a Commonwealth country, as listed in Section 5, or stateless individuals currently residing in a Commonwealth country. The Commonwealth Foundation will verify citizenship before selecting winners. Entries from citizens of non-Commonwealth countries are not accepted.

2. For regional categorization, entries are judged based on the writer's country of citizenship. In cases of dual citizenship involving two Commonwealth countries, the entry will be judged in the region where the writer is permanently residing.

3. There is no requirement for the writer to currently reside in a Commonwealth country, as long as they hold citizenship in a Commonwealth nation.

4. Entrants must be at least 18 years old by November 1, 2023.

5. The Commonwealth Foundation, in consultation with the prize chair, will exercise discretion in determining eligibility, and the chair's decision on eligibility matters is final, with no further correspondence.

6. Previous overall winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize are ineligible to enter. Similarly, entrants who have won the regional prize three times are not eligible to submit to the prize.

7. Current staff members of the Commonwealth Foundation cannot participate.

8. Entries must be previously unpublished and should remain unpublished in any language until May 1, 2024.

9. If your entry has been shortlisted or received awards in other competitions but has not been published, it remains eligible for submission.

Click on the official link below to apply