The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is an annual £5,000 award for unpublished short fiction, administered and funded by the Commonwealth Foundation. It is free to enter and open to citizens of all Commonwealth countries aged 18 and above.
The prize celebrates the best piece of unpublished short fiction between 2,000 and 5,000 words, offering emerging writers a chance to gain international recognition.
Program Summary
- Host: Commonwealth Foundation
- Category: Competitions
- Eligible Countries: Commonwealth Countries
- Reward: £5,000
- IELTS Requirement: Not Required
- Deadline: November 1, 2025
Program Details
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is an annual competition for unpublished short fiction, designed to highlight and promote new voices from across the Commonwealth. It covers five global regions; Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific with one judge representing each region. While entries are initially judged regionally, all judges participate in reading and deliberating on stories from every region to ensure a balanced and inclusive final decision.
The final selection is made by an international panel of judges, supported by experienced readers who assist in longlisting entries. The competition welcomes diverse storytelling styles and voices, showcasing the cultural richness and literary creativity of the Commonwealth.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, applicants must:
- Be 18 years or older at the time of entry.
- Be a citizen of a Commonwealth country.
- Submit a short fiction story (any fiction genre such as science fiction, speculative fiction, historical fiction, crime, romance, or literary fiction).
- Write in any of the following accepted languages: Bengali, Chinese, Creole, English, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil, or Turkish.
- Translated stories are also accepted, and the translator of any winning story will receive additional prize money.
- Ensure the entry is unpublished and remains unpublished in any language until May 1, 2024.
- Note that previous overall winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize are not eligible.
- Entrants who have won a regional prize three times are also ineligible to submit again.
- Entries from current staff of the Commonwealth Foundation are not eligible.
- Stories that have been shortlisted or won in other competitions are eligible, provided they have not been published.
Program Benefits
Winners of the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive the following rewards:
- Five regional winners, one selected from each region of the Commonwealth.
- One overall winner chosen from the five regional winners.
- The overall winner will receive £5,000.
- Each of the remaining four regional winners will receive £2,500.
- If the winning story is a translation into English, the translator will receive additional prize money.
How to Apply
To apply for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2026, interested and qualified writers should follow these steps:
- Prepare an unpublished short fiction story between 2,000 and 5,000 words.
- Ensure your story meets all the eligibility criteria.
- Click the “CLICK HERE TO APPLY” button below to submit your entry via the Commonwealth Foundation’s official portal before the deadline.
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