Commonwealth Writers' Prize

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The Commonwealth Writers' Prize is a literary prize awarded by the Commonwealth Foundation , which is active in 53 countries, from 1987 to 2011. The aim was to encourage and support the literary scene and to disseminate demanding works to a larger audience, including outside the country of origin.

The Commonwealth Writers' Prize established itself as an annual event. It was chaired by the Australian author Nicholas Hasluck , who has published ten novels himself, including the excellent novels The Bellarmine Jug and The Country Without Music .

Selection process

The Commonwealth Writers' Prize covered all Commonwealth countries. Initially, the submitted work was assessed by four regional committees (Africa, the Caribbean and Canada, South Asia and Europe, and Southeast Asia and the Pacific). Two prizes were awarded in each of the four regions, each with a prize money of £ 1,000: one for the best novel, the other for the best first novel. The resulting eight regional works were then reviewed by the long-term Commonwealth Committee. The winner of the Best Novel Prize was £ 10,000; the best first novel was worth £ 5,000. Writers and judges met for a final literary program in one of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Graduation program

The graduation program took place in a different country each year. It included the determination of the winners by the entire committee as well as readings and other events. All writers who had previously won one of the regional awards were invited.

In 2007 the final program took place from March 20th to 27th together with the Calabash International Literary Festival in Jamaica.

Follow-up prices

In 2012 and 2013 there were similar prices with a different name; the award has not been awarded since 2014. Instead, a prize for the best short story , the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, is awarded, which Ugandan writer Jennifer Makumbi received in 2014 .

Award winners

Best novel 1987-2011

Best first novel 1987-2011

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Commonwealth Writers' Prize on commonwealthfoundation.com ( January 4, 2012 memento on the Internet Archive ), accessed January 8, 2015
  2. ↑ Commonwealth Foundation website , accessed July 6, 2014