Commonwealth Foundation prizes
series of writing prizes presented by the Commonwealth Foundation
Commonwealth Foundation has presented a number of prizes since 1987. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best First Book prize was awarded from 1989 to 2011. In addition the Commonwealth Short Story Competition was awarded from 1996 to 2011.
Beginning in 2012, Commonwealth Foundation discontinued its previous awards and created a new cultural initiative called Commonwealth Writers, which offered two new awards: the Commonwealth Book Prize for the best first book, in which regional winners received £2,500 and the overall winner received £10,000; and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the best short stories, in which regional winners received £1,000 and the overall winner received £5,000. After two years, the Book Prize was discontinued. The Short Story Prize remains the sole award from Commonwealth Writers.
Commonwealth Short Story Prize
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize, set up in 2012, is awarded annually for a piece of unpublished short fiction. It is open to Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and over who have had little or no work published and is particularly aimed at those places with little or no publishing industry.
Commonwealth Book Prize (2012–13)
Awarded for best first book, the Commonwealth Book Prize was established in 2012 for writers who were Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or over and who have had their first novel (full-length work of fiction) published in the year of entry. The Commonwealth Book Prize was part of an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation called Commonwealth Writers, which seeks to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth.
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