Impact and future plans
Why this competition matters
Although there is no restriction on theme, very often the stories address social questions, such as corruption, migration and the status of women. The competition therefore often 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.
Some of the winners have used success in the competition as a stepping stone, and have gone on to write more short stories, write and publish novels, achieve newspaper and magazine publication and write screenplays, and have become well-known in their countries and internationally. Anietie Isong, a Nigerian winner, went on to be a winner in the Olaudah Equiano prize for fiction, as did Chike Inugwe. Usha Rajagopalan, an Indian writer, after winning the competition published an acclaimed first novel 'Amrita'. Laurie Kubuitsile, a Botswana writer, who received a Highly Commended award in 2004 for her short story, 'A Pot Full Of Tears', has since reached international audiences, winning a prize in the John Reid/Tom Howard contest (USA) and being published in the UK magazine, Mslexia. Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian writer, after winning the short story competition for 'Half of a Yellow Sun', was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and was winner of First Book Award for the 2005 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for her novel 'Purple Hibiscus'.
In 2006 the Foundation carried out an survey of 2004 and 2005 winners. The answers indicated that the competition was highly valued amongst its winners. As well as the benefits of a monetary prize, winners reported a number of different advantages, including exposure in overseas markets, media attention, recognition amongst their literary peers, increased confidence in their writing abilities and a better sense of validation as a writer. There was also a general consensus among respondents that continuous rejection from publishers was one of the biggest challenges of being a writer, and one which this competition was helping to address.
Future plans
The Foundation and CBA are looking at ways of expanding and developing the competition. Areas for development include encouraging participation from under-represented countries, supporting additional methods of dissemination of the winning stories, supporting uses of the stories and winning writers in education and the promotion of literacy, and bringing on board further partners for the competition. We are actively seeking partners to enable the competition to grow - please contact us if you are interested in supporting any aspect of the competition.
