Commonwealth Short Story Prize Announces 2021 Shortlist

by | Apr 15, 2021 | Gist Corner

The 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize has been announced.

The 25 writers shortlisted for the prize were chosen from 6423 entries from 50 Commonwealth countries. This is a 25% increase from the previous year.

In the African category there are three Nigerians on the shortlist of five, one writer from Namibia and Lesotho.

The judging panel chaired by South African novelist and critic Zoë Wicomb includes Nigerian author A. Igoni Barrett (Africa), Bangladeshi writer and editor Khademul Islam (Asia), British poet and fiction writer Keith Jarrett (Canada and Europe), Jamaican environmental activist and author Diana McCaulay (Caribbean), and essayist and fiction writer Tina Makereti (Pacific).

Wicomb said the 25 stories on the shortlist “range in scope from ‘concerns with sexual identity, gender relations, animal rights’ to ‘neo-colonialism, racial exploitation and, of course, the perennial themes of love and death.’”

The shortlist from Africa are;

  • “Tetra Hydro Cannabinol” by Moso Sematlane (Lesotho): In a small village in Lesotho, a young boy grapples with the arrival of a medical marijuana company.
  • “Granddaughter of The Octopus” by Rémy Ngamije (Namibia): Recounting a family history of love, violence, and dispossession, Granddaughter of the Octopus is an experimental short story filled with humour, voice, and quiet, earnest truths.
  • “An Analysis of a Fragile Affair” by Ola W. Halim (Nigeria):A young man is everything his lover resents, but he is determined to hide some parts of him as long as his lover accepts him. How long can that be? That’s the question.
  • “Ogbuefi” by Vincent Anioke (Nigeria): A boy contends with proving that he is a man to his people. To do so, he must become an Ogbuefi.
  • “A for Abortion” by Franklyn Usouwa (Nigeria): A pregnant teenager is forced to have an abortion by the abuser she believes she is in love with.

The regional winners will be announced on Wednesday 12 May, before being published online by the literary magazine Granta. The overall winner will be announced on Wednesday 30 June.

Visit here https://www.commonwealthwriters.org/2021-commonwealth-short-story-prize-shortlist/ to see other shortlisted writers.