Canadian Vincentian writer Chanel Sutherland has been named the overall winner of the 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her short story “Descend.”

Set aboard a sinking slave ship, “Descend” gives voice to enslaved Africans who begin to share stories of love, family, and memory as they face death together. The story’s profound meditation on dignity and resistance earned high praise from the judges. Chair of the panel Dr. Vilsoni Hereniko described the piece as “deep and profound,” calling it “an allegory that affirms the unrivalled power of storytelling to set our spirits free and find hope where none exists.”

Sutherland, a previous winner of both the CBC Nonfiction and Short Story Prizes, was selected from a record-breaking pool of 7,920 entries from across the Commonwealth. She will receive £5,000 and a two-year membership to The London Library as part of her prize. In a press release, Sutherland shared the risk and impact of her story: “I took a risk with Descend—its shape, its voices—because I believed every enslaved person deserves to have their story told with dignity.” “I can’t tell all the stories, or restore the lives that were stolen, but I’m humbled that this one resonates,” she added.

In a moving reflection on her journey as a writer, Sutherland recalled the early days of storytelling in her childhood yard: “Back in Saint Vincent, I used to scrawl my earliest stories into the sand… knowing they’d be washed away by rain or footsteps.” She added, “To go from that little girl with fleeting words to now being recognized with such a prestigious and global prize is something I could never have dreamed possible.”

Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation Dr. Anne T. Gallagher AO hailed the winning story as “bold in form, precise in detail, and unforgettable in its impact.” She added, “Chanel Sutherland has taken a moment of extreme peril and fashioned a narrative that holds the reader from first line to last.”

Sutherland’s story was selected from five regional winners: Joshua Lubwama (Africa) for Mothers Not Appearing in Search, Faria Basher (Asia) for An Eye and a Leg, Subraj Singh (Caribbean) for Margot’s Run, and Kathleen Ridgwell (Pacific) for Crab Sticks and Lobster Rolls. Each regional winner received £2,500 and a year’s membership to The London Library.

All five winning stories, including “Descend,” are available to read online on Granta and will also appear in a special print anthology by Paper + Ink.

Sutherland’s upcoming debut short story collection, Layaway Child, will be published by House of Anansi in 2026. Reflecting on her fellow winners and the future of storytelling, she said, “Here’s to the stories that move us, mend us, and remind us we’re not alone—may we keep telling them!”