Six African Writers have been shortlisted for the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Five of the writers are on the Africa shortlist, while the sixth writer is a Kenyan-British author Farah Ahmed(shortlisted on the Europe/Canada list). As usual, the shortlist consists of a total of 26 writers across five continents. The writers were selected from a pool of 6,730 entries.
This year’s prize, chaired by Guyanese writer Fred D’Aguiar, includes the following judges: Rwandan publisher Louise Umutoni (Africa), Indian short story writer and novelist Jahnavi Barua (Asia), Cypriot writer and academic Stephanos Stephanides (Canada and Europe), Trinidadian novelist and former winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize Kevin Jared Hosein, and Australian Wiradjuri writer, poet and academic Jeanine Leane (Pacific).
Fred D’Aguair spoke of the shortlisted stories as “diverse as the world that they are drawn from and care about: they reflect a complex and afflicted planet; they answer the call of today’s multiple societal tensions by acts of reading that transform how the reader views that world.”
Here are the shortlisted stories from African region:
“and the earth drank deep” by Ntsika Kota (eSwatini): A tale from the distant past of our species; of a day when cold blood flowed for the first time, and the earth drank deep.
“Lifestyle Guide for The Discerning Witch” by Franklyn Usouwa (Nigeria): A story about the effects of cultural gender bias on the development of a girl and how her defiance shapes the woman she becomes.
“Something Happened Here” by Dera Duru (Nigeria): After spending years on the run, a man goes back home to confront his past and his brother’s ghost.
“How to Operate the New Eco-Protect Five-in-One Climate Control Apparatus” by Charlie Muhumuza (Uganda): In 2050, an attached user manual introduces the capabilities of a new home appliance with immediate application and consequences.
“Thandiwe” by Mubanga Kalimamukwento (Zambia): A story in fragments on the meaning of family through the eyes of a hurting daughter caring for her ailing mother.
‘Hot Chutney Mango Sauce’ by Farah Ahmed (Canada/Europe): Five girls are homeless and live in the backyard of a shrine. The story is told in the first-person plural and from the point of view of the men who work in the kiosks in the shrine car park.
The regional winners will be announced on Monday 23 May, before being published online by the literary magazine Granta. The overall winner will be announced in June. The 2022 shortlisted stories will be published online, in the innovative online magazine of the Commonwealth Foundation, adda.
Visit here to read the bios of the shortlisted writers.
Picture source: Commonwealth website
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