The 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize has shared the shortlists 25 writers from 18 countries and 5 regions: Africa, Asia, Canada & Europe, Caribbean, and Pacific.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction from any of the Commonwealth’s 56 Member States. The stories on the 2025 shortlist were selected from a total of record-breaking 7,920 entries from 54 Commonwealth countries.

Check out the African shortlist below and read more about each story and author here:

‘The Flute Player’ by Priscilla Ametorpe Goka (Ghana)

‘A Room Full of Teddy Bears’ by Dorechi (Kenya)

‘The Sun isn’t Dead Yet’ by Vashish Jaunky (Mauritius)  (translated by Edwige-Renée Dro from the French, ‘Le soleil n’est pas encore mort’)

‘The mothers’ by Olákìtán T. Aládéṣuyì (Nigeria)

‘Broken String’ by Stephen M. Finn (South Africa)

‘Mothers Not Appearing in Search’ by Joshua Lubwama (Uganda)

Winning or being shortlisted for the prize often opens up a wealth of opportunities for the selected writers, propelling them further in their writing careers. In a press release circulated by the Commonwealth Foundation, Ugandan writer and lawyer Charlie Muhumuza, described being shortlisted for the prize in 2022 as “his greatest achievement, one that propelled him to recognition within the East African literary community.” 

All the 2025 shortlisted stories will be published in the online magazine of the Commonwealth Foundation, adda, which features new writing from around the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is administered by the Commonwealth Foundation. The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 countries. The Commonwealth’s roots go back to the British Empire. But today any country can join the modern Commonwealth. The last two countries to join the Commonwealth were Gabon and Togo in 2022.

Five judges drawn from the five regions of the Commonwealth, join the chair, Dr. Vilsoni Hereniko, on the panel. They are: Cameroonian author, poet and scholar Nsah Mala (Africa); Malaysian writer and 2019 Asia regional winner Saras Manickam (Asia); British writer and journalist Dr Anita Sethi (Canada and Europe); writer, editor and comedian Lisa Allen-Agostini from Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean); and poet, actor, musician and writer Apirana Taylor from Aotearoa/New Zealand (Pacific).

The regional winners, who will receive £2,500 GBP, will be announced on May 14, 2025. The overall winner. who will receive £5,000 GBP, will be announced on June 25, 2025. The winning stories are published online by Granta and in a special print collection by Paper + Ink.