Deadline: 1st November 2025 | Showcase your fiction to a global audience and compete for £5,000.
Overview
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is an annual award for unpublished short fiction, run by the Commonwealth Foundation. It seeks out fresh voices—especially from places with limited publishing infrastructure—and gives storytellers across Commonwealth countries a chance to be read internationally.
Eligibility
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Applicants must be citizens of a Commonwealth country (or stateless persons residing in one).
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Dual citizens of two Commonwealth countries are judged by the region of their permanent residence.
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Writers must be 18 or older as of 1 November 2025.
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Submissions must be unpublished in any language until 1 May 2026.
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Previous overall winners of this prize are not eligible; those who have won their regional prize three times also can’t enter again.
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Staff currently employed by the Commonwealth Foundation are not permitted to submit.
Description
The Prize accepts entries of unpublished short stories from across the Commonwealth. Winners are selected regionally, and one of the regional winners is elevated to the overall winner. The awarded stories will be published, giving writers exposure on an international platform.
Benefits
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The overall winner receives £5,000.
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Each of the five regional winners gets £2,500.
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All regional winning stories are published on Granta magazine.
Find out more and apply at the official link below:
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Apply before 1st November, 2025