How to enter

Please read the Eligibility and Entry rules carefully before submitting the on line entry form.

Alternatively, download the format the bottom of this pageand send it with three copies of each entry to the appropriate regional chairperson. In addition one copy of each book and a copy of the entry form must be sent to :

Commonwealth Writers' Prize,
Commonwealth Foundation
Marlborough House,Pall Mall,London,
SW1Y 5HY
United Kingdom

    
Eligibility

For both Best Book and Best First Book awards, any work of prose fiction is eligible, i.e. a novel or collection of short stories, with the exception of any work written for children alone, or drama or poetry. There is no restriction on setting, theme or mode. There is no requirement that the subject of the work should deal with the concept, values and work of the Commonwealth.

To be eligible for the 2008 CWP, the work must meet the following criteria:

  • The work must have been written by a citizen of a Commonwealth country and the publisher must verify the author's citizenship before entering the book.
  • It must be of a reasonable length and it must have been first published between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007.
  • Its author must be alive on the closing date for entries.
  • The entry must be originally written in English. (We regret that works translated from other languages are not eligible.)
  • For a collection of short stories to be eligible, at least half of the short stories in the collection must have been published after 1 January 2003.

To be eligible for the Best First Book Prize, in addition to the above criteria, the entry must be the first work of fiction (i.e. a novel or collection of short stories) which the author has published with an adult readership in mind.

Entry rules

Entries must be made by the publisher.

  • Entries should be submitted to the region of the writer's Commonwealth citizenship. For the purpose of the Prize the countries of the Commonwealth are divided into four regions: Africa; the Caribbean and Canada; Europe and South Asia; South East Asia and the South Pacific. Countries in each region are listed at the back of this leaflet. If a writer holds citizenship in more than one region, the publisher should determine which region the book should be entered in. 
  •  In all regions except Africa, publishers will be restricted to two entries per category, per region. To encourage more submissions, publishers may submit three books per category in the Africa region.
  • For publishers with multiple imprints, each imprint may make two entries per category (three in the Africa region).
  • The same book may not be entered in both categories. Publishers are strongly advised to enter first books in the Best First Book category, but may choose to enter them in the Best Book category.
  • Publishers must obtain the author's consent before submitting her/his book.


Related Documents
2008 CWP Entry Form 219 KB)