Zambian writer wins Commonwealth Short Story Competition 2007
Ellen Banda-Aaku from Zambia is the overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Competition by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association.
The Commonwealth Short Story Competition, awarded annually, exists to increase understanding between and appreciation of different Commonwealth cultures, to showcase the rich diversity of the Commonwealth and to support rising literary talents.
As the overall winner Ellen Banda-Aaku receives £2,000 for her story, Sozi's Box, which was selected as the best story from the Africa region of the Commonwealth and as the winning story from more than two thousand entries.
Click to read her winning story
Speaking on her win, Ellen Banda-Aaku commented:
“Winning the competition means a lot to me, I am honoured and at the same time humbled that my story has been selected as the overall winning entry for the 2007 Commonwealth Short Story Competition; it really warms my heart. I hope my win inspires other African writers, to enter the competition. I'm encouraged to write more about human behaviour and culture, and by doing so hope to heighten our conscience and raise questions about how we deal with the experiences and challenges life throws our way.”
Ellen received her prize from humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury Terry Waite in a ceremony held at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda on Wednesday 21 November. During the ceremony Terry Waite spoke movingly of the importance of language and the role of language in retaining identity, something he learned during his five years in captivity. The presentation took place as part of a series of literary events associated with the 2007 Commonwealth People's Forum involving recent winners of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and Caine Prize, as well as the Commonwealth Short Story Competition.
The other 25 winners in the competition include regional winners from Australia and the Pacific (Catherine Palmer from New Zealand), Canada and the Caribbean (Sarah Totton from Canada), Asia (Hema S Raman from India) and Europe (Emily Pedder from the UK).
Highly commended winners come from Nigeria, South Africa, Australia, Canada, St Lucia, Jamaica, India, Pakistan and the UK.
The judges were writer Donna Daley-Clarke, writer and broadcaster Lucy Hannah, and Nathan Hamilton of the New Writing Partnership.
Speaking on behalf of the Commonwealth Short Story judging panel, Nathan Hamilton commented:
“Judging was an enlightening and rewarding experience. Reading through the entries, one got an enjoyable flavour of diverse attitudes and cultures from all over the world. All of the winners displayed signs of talent and writing flair but, for me, there was one - the overall winner - that had 'something extra': it packed a real emotional punch.”
“In general, the issues that cropped up most often were to do with terrorism or war; childhood; cultural tensions in the family across generations and racial boundaries; emigration and immigration. Environmental concerns were also prevalent. And sometimes entries seemed too preoccupied with portraying elements that may have been assumed to be what a judging panel in London wanted to read. However, each of the winners went beyond a self-consciously chosen issue or theme. They listened instead to the needs of the story and let that guide them.”
Elizabeth Smith, OBE, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association said,
“The winning stories open windows into other cultures. For the writers, the stories open doors into a wider world. For the peoples of the Commonwealth, they open our hearts, so that we can understand each other better.”
Past winners of the prize include: Chimamanda Adichie, author of Half of the Yellow Sun, winner of this year's Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and winner of the First Book Award for the 2005 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for her novel Purple Hibiscus, who was highly commended in the Commonwealth Short Story Competition for The Tree in Grandma's Garden. Usha Rajagopalan, an Indian writer, who published an acclaimed first novel Amrita after winning the competition.
The Commonwealth Short Story Competition began in 1996. It is funded by the Commonwealth Foundation and administered by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. CBA member stations have the right to broadcast the short stories free
of charge.
The Winners
Overall winner - Sozi's Box by Ellen Banda-Aaku
Sozi's Box explores the cultural treatment of loss and disability as seen through the eyes of a child at her brother's funeral.
Ellen Banda-Aaku from Zambia was born in the UK in 1965. She grew up in Zambia and later moved to the UK to study. She has a BA in Public Administration from the University of Zambia and an MA in Finance and Social Policy from Middlesex University in the UK. She lived in Ghana for several years and currently lives in Cape Town, South Africa, where she is studying for an MA in Creative Writing. She is the author of a children's book, Wandi's Little Voice, published by Macmillan UK, which won the Macmillan Writer's Prize New Writer Award in 2004.
Regional Winners
Australia and Pacific – Bushwoman by Catherine Palmer
Europe – Days Are Long by Emily Pedder
Asia – Where Do I Belong? by Hema Raman
Canada and the Caribbean – The Man with the Seahorse Head by Sarah Totton
Highly commended
Africa
Trial by Water by Molara Wood
Six-Pack by Wame Molefhe
Never Put Your Hand in a Dog's Mouth by Linda C. Saunders
Asia
Underneath the Sky by Rayika Choudri
A Good Night's Work by Ashwini Gowariker
A Win-Win Game by Aniruddha Sen
Arranged Marriage by Manasi Subramaniam
Australia and Pacific
Zuka's Gift by David Campbell
Heaven by Robert Carter
The Passionfruit by Paddy O'Reilly
Hook-Up by Ash Rehn
In Transit by Eunice Tan
Do Not Disturb by Bruce Riddell
Canada and Caribbean
The Village Voice by Katherine Atkinson
Scissors by Darryl Berger
Melnyk Comes Home by Stewart Boston
Kick by Carin Makuz
The Last Ride by Ditta Sylvester
Leaving by Donna Tremblay
Europe
The Flying Carpet by Faye Davies
In Arms by Juliet O'Callaghan
Notes
• There are five regional winners from Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Canada, Europe and the Pacific, of which one is then selected as the overall winner. This year 21 highly commended stories were also chosen. The overall winner of the competition receives £2,000, regional winners £500, and each highly commended author £100
• Although there is no restriction on theme often the stories address social questions, such as corruption, migration and the status of women. The competition raises important issues to Commonwealth people, and ones which different cultures have in common. A large proportion of entrants and winners tend to be women and young people
• All the winning stories are read and professionally recorded onto CD. The CD is sent to radio stations for broadcast across the Commonwealth. Copies of the 2007-2008 Commonwealth Short Story CD can be purchased from the CBA. For more information please contact cba@cba.org.uk or phone +44 (0) 20 7583 5550 or fax +44 (0) 20 7583 5549
• Among the broadcasters to air the winning stories in the 2006 competition were the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC (UK Radio Four and local radio, and the World Service), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Cyprus Radio, All India Radio, Malta Broadcasting Association, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Radio New Zealand, Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation, South African Broadcasting Corporation, Tonga Broadcasting Commission and several Caribbean broadcasters
• For further information about the Commonwealth Short Story Competition visit www.cba.org.uk/awards_and_competitions/Short_Story/index.php.
• To interview the winners or judges, or for a full list of winners' biographies, please contact Colman Getty
Further media information:
Cathrin Preece
Colman Getty
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7631 2666
E: cathrin@colmangetty.co.uk
