The Commonwealth Foundation has unveiled the judging panel for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, featuring an international lineup of distinguished writers and literary voices representing each Commonwealth region.

The panel is chaired by acclaimed British novelist Louise Doughty, with regional judges including South African writer Fred Khumalo for Africa, Bangladeshi editor and translator Rifat Munim for Asia, Inuk Canadian writer Dr Norma Dunning for Canada and Europe, Jamaican writer and lawyer Sharma Taylor for the Caribbean, and Australian author Maxine Beneba Clarke for the Pacific region.

This distinguished panel will evaluate submissions from across the 56 Commonwealth nations, with each judge reading entries from all regions before collectively selecting a shortlist of around twenty-five stories. The judging process involves selecting five regional winners, each receiving £2,500, with one chosen as the overall winner who receives £5,000.

Fred Khumalo’s appointment as the Africa region judge brings particular significance to the continental literary community. The prolific author of 19 books, including novels, short story collections, journalism, and biographical works, brings decades of experience as both writer and cultural commentator to the selection process. His acclaimed work “Dancing the Death Drill” has been translated into German, Setswana, and isiZulu, with more translations into other local languages in the pipeline.

Khumalo’s impressive credentials include winning the European Union Literary Award and the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences Award. A journalist by training who writes primarily in English but has also published two books in Zulu, he holds an MA Creative Writing from Wits University and is a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of the Arts of the World in Cologne, Germany, and has served as a judge on numerous South African writing contests.

With Fred Khumalo’s extensive experience in South African literature and his deep understanding of African storytelling traditions, the continent’s writers can expect authentic and nuanced evaluation of their submissions. His appointment, alongside this internationally respected panel, reinforces the Commonwealth Short Story Prize’s commitment to showcasing the best voices from across the Commonwealth’s diverse literary landscape.