Commonwealth Writers Prize

The regional finalists for 2007 have been announced, the regions being: Africa; Canada and the Caribbean; Europe and South Asia; South East Asia and South Pacific. The shortlist will be announced on 12th March and the winners on 27th May.

Last years winners were: BEST BOOK The Secret River by Kate Grenville (Australia); BEST FIRST BOOK Suspended Sentences: Fictions of Atonement by Mark McWatt (Guyana).

This years nominees include Half of a Yellow Sun, The Emperor's Children, The View From Castle Rock, Sacred Games, Carry Me Down, Black Swan Green, In the Country of Men, Theft: A Love Story.

The Secret River was definitely my top book for 2006. I'm reading Half of a Yellow Sun currently and have The View from Castle Rock loaded into the ipod...both are quite good thus far.

Loved both Half of a Yellow Sun and The View from Castle Rock, really disliked The Emperor's Children, have Sacred Games ready to be read, and haven't looked at the others (yet?).

Getting tired of waiting for touchstones to load . . .

PAST WINNERS of the Commonwealth Prize

1987 - Olive Senior, Summer Lightning
1988 - Festus Iyayi, Heroes
1989 - Janet Frame, The Carpathians
1990 - Mordecai Richler, Solomon Gursky Was Here
1991 - David Malouf, The Great World
1992 - Rohinton Mistry, Such a Long Journey
1993 - Alex Miller, The Ancestor Game
1994 - Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy
1995 - Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin
1996 - Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance
1997 - Earl Lovelace, Salt
1998 - Peter Carey, Jack Maggs
1999 - Murray Bail, Eucalyptus
2000 - John Maxwell Coetzee, Disgrace
2001 - Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
2002 - Richard Flanagan, Gould's Book of Fish
2003 - Austin Clarke, The Polished Hoe
2004 - Caryl Phillips, A Distant Shore
2005 - Andrea Levy, Small Island
2006 - Kate Grenville, The Secret River

some touchstones not loading...

I'm tempted to ask - what were the judges thinking in 1995?

They were probably still reading A Suitable Boy.

Ha ha Louis. BUT, I liked Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Hated The Polished Hoe. Most of the others look quite good.

Just finished reading Eucalyptus and it is very good. A modern fairy tale set in Australia, packed full of trees and stories.

Exactly, I am still amazed that anyone could get past the first few pages of Captain Corelli's Mandolin but Eucalyptus is a dream of a book, a re-readable. I am glad they put off filming it ... Russell Crowe would just be wrong in any role in it and I'd sooner see Naomi than Nicole in it too.

Having finished Eucalyptus, I have to say I was mightily impressed. One of the best novels I have read recently, deserving of all the praise lavished on it. It's good to know it's not being filmed, a film would reduce the book to a simple plot, and in many ways that is the least interesting part of the novel.

I made it through Captain Corelli's Mandolin, which meant I had to endure one of the most idiotic endings to a novel that I have ever read. (Think stupid, then add another two layers of stupidity). The best bits were the chapters written from the viewpoint of the doctor, and they were redolent of de Bernieres obsession with Latin American literature.

Two of the four regional winners have been decided:
EUROPE & SOUTH ASIA
Best Book: The Perfect Man by Naeem Murr (UK)
Best First Book: In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar

CANADA & THE CARIBBEAN
Best Book: The Friends of Meager Fortune by David Adams Richards (Canada)
Best First Book: Vandal Love by D.Y. Becaid (Canada)

Zero percent touchstones. Why do I bother?

Has anyone read any previous works by Richards or Murr??

SOUTH EAST ASIA AND SOUTH PACIFIC
Best Book: Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (New Zealand)
Best First Book: Tuvalu by Andrew O'Connor (Australia)

AFRICA
Best Book: The Native Commissioner by Shaun Johnson (South Africa)
Best First Book: All We Have Left Unsaid by Maxine Case (South Africa)

Amanda, is there anything you can tell us about the O'Connor novel?

How sad, still no award for Half of a Yellow Sun.

#15 rebeccanyc: despair not, the big prizes always seem to go to a variety of novels. No single novel ever wins the grand slam.
#15 avaland: I know nothing of the O'Connor which means either: 1) it hasn't been released yet or 2) whatever reviews I read weren't good. I only keep a record of those that sound promising.

Mister Pip is a worthy choice and I'm currently reading In the Country of Men which is also pretty good.

*****Commonwealth Writers Prize 2007 WINNER:
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (New Zealand)

I guess you predicted that one:-)

Shortlist Announced for Commonwealth Prize

Africa
Best Book
Barbara Adair (South Africa) End
Ifeoma Chinwuba (Nigeria) Waiting for Maria
Finuala Dowling(South Africa) Flyleaf
Karen King-Aribisala (Nigeria) The Hangman's Game
Susan Mann (South Africa ) Quarter Tones
Zakes Mda (South Africa) Cion

Best First Book
Sade Adeniran (Nigeria ) Imagine This
Ceridwen Dovey (South Africa) Blood Kin
Dayo Forster (Gambia) Reading the Ceiling
Ken Kamoche (Kenya) A Fragile Hope
Sumayya Lee (South Africa) The Story of Maha South Africa
Carel van der Merwe (South Africa) No Man's Land

Canada and the Caribbean
Best Book
Gil Adamson (Canada) The Outlander
Erna Brodber (Jamaica) The Rainmaker's Mistake
Lawrence Hill (Canada) The Book of Negroes
Robert Hough (Canada) The Culprits
Frances Itani (Canada) Remembering the Bones
Michael Ondaatje (Canada) Divisadero

Best First Book
David Chariandy (Canada) Soucouyant
Tish Cohen (Canada) Town House
Arley McNeney (Canada) Post
Ameen Merchant (Canada) The Silent Raga
C.S. Richardson (Canada) The End of the Alphabet
Neil Smith (Canada) Bang Crunch

Europe and South Asia
Best Book
David Davidar (India) The Solitude of Emperors
Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan) The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Usha K.R. (India) Girl and a River
Hari Kunzru (UK) My Revolutions
Nicholas Shakespeare (UK) Secrets of the Sea
Indra Sinha (India ) Animal's People

Best First Book
Tahmima Anam (Bangladesh) A Golden Age
Priya Basil (UK) Ishq and Mushq
Shandana Minhas (UK) Tunnel Vision
Catherine O'Flynn (UK) What was Lost
Jeremy Page (UK) Salt
JM Shaw (UK) The Illumination of Merton Browne

South East Asia and South Pacific
Best Book Award
Steven Carroll (Australia) The Time We Have Taken
Sonya Hartnett (Australia) The Ghosts Child
Sarah Hopkins (Australia) The Crimes of Billy Fish
Mireille Juchau (Australia) Burning In
Michelle De Kretser (Australia) The Lost Dog
Alex Miller (Australia) Landscape of Farewell

Best First Book Award
Steven Conte (Australia) The Zookeepers War
Karen Foxlee (Australia) The Anatomy of Wings
Sara Knox (Australia) The Orphan Gunner
Carol Lefevre (Australia) Nights in the Asylum
Marcella Polain (Australia) The Edge of the World
Stephen Scourfield (Australia) Other Country

http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/author/article_display.jsp?vnu_...

Lawrence Hill (Canada) The Book of Negroes is the winner of the Canada-Carribbean region while C.S. Richardson (Canada) The End of the Alphabet is the first novel winner for the same region.

FINALISTS - BEST NOVEL
Karen King-Aribisala, Th Hangman's Game (Nigeria)
Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes (Canada)
Indra Sinha, Animal's People (India)
Steven Carroll, The Time We Have Taken (Australia)

FINALISTS - Best First Novel
Sade Adeniran, Imagine This (Nigeria)
C.S.Richardson, The End of The Alphabet (Canada)
Tahmima Anam, A Golden Age (Bangladesh)
Karen Foxlee, The Anatomy of Wings (Australia)

The winner will be announced on 18th May 2008.

Thanks for posting this, amandameale.

Just updating the thread:

News on the overall winners of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.

Lawrence Hill of Canada was the overall Best Book winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for The Book of Negroes.

Tahmima Anam from Bangladesh took the
overall Best First Book prize for A Golden Age.

http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/culturediversity/writersprize/2008cwpovera...

Thanks dchaikin: I haven't given it a thought since March! But I do want to know the winners.

The shortlists for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize were announced earlier today. According to The Commonwealth Foundation web site, "The Commonwealth Writers' Prize, a much valued and sought-after award, aims to reward the best Commonwealth fiction written in English, by both established and new writers, and to take their works to a global audience."

Africa regional shortlists:

Best Book
Damon Galgut (South Africa) The Impostor {Penguin}
Tim Keegan (South Africa ) My Life with the Duvals {Umuzi}
Sindiwe Magona (South Africa) Beauty's Gift {Kwela books}
Mandla Langa (South Africa) The Lost Colours of the Chameleon {Picador Africa}
Zoe Wicomb (South Africa) The One That Got Away {Umuzi}

Best First Book
Jassy Mackenzie (South Africa) Random Violence {Umuzi}
Uwem Akpan (Nigeria) Say You're One of Them {Abacus}
Megan Voysey-Braig (South Africa) Till We Can Keep An Animal {Jacana Media}
Chris Mamewick (South Africa) Shepherds and Butchers {Umuzi}
Sue Rabie (South Africa) Boston Snowplough {Human & Rousseau}
Jane Bennett (South Africa ) Porcupine {Kwela Books}

Canada and Caribbean regional shortlists:

Best Book
Marina Endicott (Canada) Good to a Fault {Freehand Books}
Kenneth J Harvey (Canada) Blackstrap Hawco {Random House Canada}
Nino Ricci (Canada) The Origin of Species {Doubleday Canada}
Jacob Ross(Grenada) Pynter Bender {Fourth Estate}
Jaspreet Singh (Canada) Chef {Véhicule Press}
Fred Stenson (Canada) The Great Karoo {Doubleday Canada}

Best First Book
Theanna Bischoff (Canada) Cleavage {NeWest Press}
Mark Blagrave (Canada) Silver Salts {Cormorant Books}
Craig Boyko (Canada) Blackouts {McClelland and Stewart}
Nila Gupta (Canada) The Sherpa and Other Fictions {Sumach Press}
Pasha Malla (Canada) The Withdrawal Method {House of Anansi Press}
Joan Thomas (Canada) Reading By Lightning {Goose Lane Editions}
Padma Viswanathan (Canada)The Toss of a Lemon {Random House Canada}

Europe and South Asia regional shortlists:

Best Book Award
Chris Cleave (United Kingdom) The Other Hand {Sceptre}
Shashi Deshpande (India) The Country of Deceit {Penguin}
Philip Hensher (United Kingdom) The Northern Clemency {Fourth Estate}
Jhumpa Lahiri (United Kingdom) Unaccustomed Earth {Bloomsbury Publishing}
David Lodge (United Kingdom) Deaf Sentence {Harvill Secker}
Salman Rushdie (United Kingdom) The Enchantress of Florence {Random House}

Best First Book Award
Sulaiman Addonia (United Kingdom) The Consequences of Love {Chatto and Windus}
Daniel Clay (United Kingdom) Broken {Harper Collins}
Joe Dunthorne (United Kingdom) Submarine {Penguin}
Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan) The Case of Exploding Mangoes {Jonathan Cape}
Murzaban Shroff (India) Breathless in Bombay {St. Martin's Griffin}

South East Asia and the Pacific regional shortlists :

Best Book
Aravind Adiga (Australia) Between The Assassinations {Picador India}
Helen Garner (Australia) The Spare Room {The Text Publishing Company}
Joan London (Australia) The Good Parents {Random House Australia (Vintage Imprint)}
Paula Morris (New Zealand) Forbidden Cities {Penguin New Zealand}
Christos Tsiolkas (Australia) The Slap {Allen and Unwin}
Tim Winton, (Australia) Breath {Picador}

Best First Book
Aravind Adiga (Australia), The White Tiger {Atlantic Books}
Nam Le (Australia) The Boat {Hamish Hamilton}
Mo Zhi Hong (New Zealand) The Year of The Shanghai Shark {Penguin New Zealand}
Bridget van der Zijpp (New Zealand) Misconduct {Victoria University Press}
Preeta Samarasan (Malaysian) Evening is the Whole Day {Fourth Estate}
Ashley Sievwright (Australia) The Shallow End {Clouds of Magellan}

The regional winners will be announced on 11 March. The overall winners will be announced on 16 May. Last year's overall winners were Lawrence Hill (Canada) for The Book of Negroes (released in the US as Someone Knows My Name), which won the Best Book Award, and Tahmima Anam (Bangladesh) for A Golden Age, which won the Best First Book Award.

I find it kind of disappointing that it seems so white-centric. I realise that the English language restriction contributes significantly, but are there really so few good books being written in Anglophone Africa? In the Caribbean?

Also, I was rather surprised to see Jhumpa Lahiri listed as British. Apparently she was born here but moved to the states when she was three. It seems a bit bizarre to include her to me.

I should stop being such a grumpster, shouldn't I? I might just go and read all the non UK/South Africa/Canada shortlisted ones. At least that makes the list manageable! And thanks for posting, kidzdoc!

Thanks for the list kidzdoc.

>28 frithuswith: - from what I've read, the indigenous publishing industries have virtually collapsed completely so very little new work is appearing, with authors having to compete in the UK or US markets.

30> That sounds very plausible. I was reading recently about publishing in the Gambia and the difficulties authors face there. Heinemann used to do quite a lot I think, but now they're only interested in YA lit that they can peddle to schools, and it sounds like even that isn't bearing much fruit now :-(

Yes, thanks for taking the time to post the list for us, kidzdoc.

>28 frithuswith: Maybe Lahiri still has British citizenship?

>30 Jargoneer:, 31 Interesting. Really, Heinemann is peddling YA?

>32 avaland: - Heinemann have relaunched their African Writers series as Secondary School texts.

>32 avaland: thanks for the update.

The finalists for the prize were announced this evening:

Best Book:
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Lost Colours of the Chameleon by Mandla Langa
Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

Best First Book:
A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
Reading by Lightning by Joan Thomas
The Year of the Shanghai Shark by Mo Zhi Hong

The winner in each category will be announced on 16 May.

Lahiri sees off Rushdie in Commonwealth heat

Thanks for posting this. I'm currently reading A Case of Exploding Mangoes. It's not something I'd normally pick up, but I am wowed by it so far.

I've had the Lahiri since it first came out but haven't gotten around to it yet.

The Lahiri is fantastic. One of my Top 5 for 2008.

I enjoyed the Hanif. I haven't read the Lahiri yet, but I'll get to it later this month or next month.

Most of the other books don't seem to be available in the US or UK yet. Hopefully that will change soon.

Christos Tsiolkas won the Best Book Award today for The Slap, and Mohammed Hanif won the Best First Book Award for A Case of Exploding Mangoes.

2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize - winners announced in Auckland

Well, that's interesting. I've not been sure about reading The Slap but now I certainly will.
Ditto Mangoes.

It seems to be very difficult to get hold of The Slap in the UK even now - showing as out of stock on the Book Depository - which is a shame as it sounds really interesting.

I wasn't blown away by Mangoes, I must admit, but then I knew next to nothing about Pakistan when I read it... I might feel differently on a re-read (but didn't really enjoy it enough first time round to justify it!!).

I don't want to give away any spoilers but I do recommendThe Slap. This book elicits varied responses from readers as it deals with emotive topics as violence, parenting and marriage. It asks readers to decide their own moral stance. A good book for a book group discussion.

I loved it though most of the male characters annoyed me. It is very Australian so I do wonder how the rest of the world will like it.

The regional shortlists for the 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize were announced today.

Africa
The shortlisted writers for Africa's Best Book are:
Trespass by Dawn Garisch (South Africa)
The Double Crown by Marié Heese (South Africa)
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
Eyo by Abidemi Sanusi (Nigeria)
Tsamma Season by Rosemund Handler (South Africa)
Refuge by Andrew Brown (South Africa)
Kings of the Water by Mark Behr (South Africa)

The shortlisted writers for Africa's Best First Book are:
I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Nigeria)
The Shape of Him by Gill Schierhout (South Africa)
The Shadow of a Smile by Kachi Ozumba (Nigeria)
Come Sunday by Isla Morley (South Africa)
Sleepers Wake by Alistair Morgan (South Africa)
Jelly Dog Days by Erica Emdon (South Africa)
Harmattan Rain by Aysha Harunna Attah (Ghana)

Caribbean and Canada
The shortlisted writers or the Caribbean and Canada Best Book are:
The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels (Canada)
February by Lisa Moore (Canada)
Euphoria by Connie Gault (Canada)
Goya's Dog by Damian Tarnopolsky (Canada)
Galore by Michael Crummey (Canada)
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (Canada)

The shortlisted writers for the Caribbean and Canada Best First Book are:
Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell (Canada)
Daniel O'Thunder by Ian Weir (Canada)
The Island Quintet: Five Stories by Raymond Ramchartiar (Trinidad)
Diary of Interrupted Days by Dragan Todorovic (Canada)
The Briss by Michael Tregebov (Canada)
Amphibian by Carla Gunn (Canada)

South Asia and Europe
The shortlisted writers for South Asia and Europe Best Book are:
Solo by Rana Dasgupta (Britain)
For Pepper and Christ: A Novel by Keki Daruwalla (India)
The Beijing of Possibilities by Jonathan Tel (Britain)
Heartland by Anthony Catwright (Britain)
Another Gulmohar Tree by Aamer Hussein (Pakistan)
The Immortals by Amit Chaudhuri (India)

The shortlisted writers for South Asia and Europe Best First Book are:
The Hungry Ghosts by Anne Berry (Britain)
Arzee the Dwarf by Chandrahas Choudhury (India)
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin (Pakistan)
Among Thieves by Mez Packer (Britain)
An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay (Britain)
Tail of the Blue Bird by Nii Parkes (Britain

South East Asia and Pacific
The shortlisted writers for South East Asia and Pacific Best Book are:
Summertime by J.M Coetzee (Australia)
A Good Land by Nada Awar Jarrar (Australia)
The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt (Samoa)
Singularity by Charlotte Grimshaw (New Zealand)
The People's Train by Thomas Keneally (Australia)
Parrot and Oliver in America by Peter Carey (Australia)

The shortlisted writers for South East Asia and Pacific Best First Book are:
The Ice Age by Kirsten Reed (Australia)
After the fire, a still small voice by Evie Wyld (Australia)
Look Who's Morphing by Tom Cho (Australia)
Document Z by Andrew Croome (Australia)
Come Inside by Glenys Osborne (Australia)
Siddon Rock by Glenda Guest (Australia)

The finalists for the regional awards will be announced on April 7, and the overall winners for the Best Book and Best First Book will be announced on April 12.

How totally random that Evie Wyld counts as Australian when she lives in South London... though I think she has an Australian passport. Thanks, Darryl.

You're welcome, Rachael. Have you read any of these books?

Hardly any: The Winter Vault, which I loved; In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, which I was a wee bit disappointed by - I thought he was much more compelling and thoughtful in the stories of the Pakistani immigrant experience in Europe, or Europeans trying to cope with life in Pakistan (which is perhaps not surprising, given that's his own background); most of the book is composed of interconnected stories about a particular rural community in Pakistan, and to me he didn't properly interrogate the structures and dynamics he was portraying. It was a beautiful snapshot, but I wanted him to push further the "what it all means" angle of things. Definitely one to watch, though.

I've also read Evie Wyld's book (and reviewed for Belletrista's first issue), which the literati over here seem to have gone nuts for - she won the John Llewllyn Rhys prize for it - but again I wasn't totally blown away by. It was an interesting plot, but I just could not make myself care about one of the protagonists, and there was nothing in the writing that made me really sit up and go, "Wow!". Still: everyone else in the UK appears to disagree with me...

According to my morning paper, the finalists have been announced.
Galore by Michael Crummey -Canada/Caribbean Region. (Canada and I read this book and really liked it)
The Double Crown by Marie Heese- Africa ( South Africa)
Solo by Rana Dasgupta -South Asia and Europe ( U.K.)
The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt-Southeast Asia and Pacific. ( Samoa)

First Book Category
Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell Canada
I Do Not Come to You by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani Nigeria
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin Pakistan
Siddon Rock by Glenda Guest Australia

Thanks for posting this, Cyrel! What is Galore about? Do you know anything about Under This Unbroken Sky?

I read Galore- it is about three generations of Newfoundlanders with a bit of fantasy thrown in at the beginning. The characters are unique and take part in some real historical events. Crummey is a great story teller. I had some problems with the ending ( no spoilers here) but loved the rest of the book. I was annoyed that it did not get the Governor-General's Award for Fiction. ( Galore was nominated but lost out to a book that I thought was not as good)
I haven't read the Mitchell book.

I haven't even heard of any of those Australian books, except for those by Coetzee and Carey.

I read Galore in January. I have enjoyed Crummey's poetry and saw the book while on Amazon.ca for something else. I have had his River Thieves in my TBR pile for a long time...

Both The Winter Vault and In Other Rooms, Other Wonders ended up on my favorites list for 2009.

I'm familiar with some of the other titles through browsing publisher catalogs and sites for Belletrista, but the only one on the list I was tempted to chase down was The Shape of Him.

Solo by Rana Dasgupta is the winner of this year's Commonwealth Writers' prize. Siddon Rock by Glenda Guest was awarded the Best First Novel award.

More info:

Rana Dasgupta wins Commonwealth Writers' prize

Interesting - Siddon Rock has also been nominated for Australia's most prestigious literary prize.

I've just read the most recent winner, Solo by Rana Dasgupta. My copy came through Early Reviewers. It will be released in the U.S. next week. It's a wonderful novel, both experimental in its structure and highly readable, set principally in 20th century Bulgaria.

Because of selections like this I've come to think very highly of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.

2011 prize
The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, supported by the Macquarie Group Foundation and now in its 25th year, has selected both household names and other emerging stars from across the Commonwealth for the four regional shortlists for the Best Book and Best First Book awards.

The regional winners of the Best Book and Best First Book prizes will be announced on the 3rd March, with the final programme commencing on the 16th May at Sydney Writers’ Festival in Australia. This will bring together the finalists from the four different regions of the Commonwealth, and the two overall winners will be announced on the 21st May.

Regional shortlists:

Africa Best Book:
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone)
Men of the South by Zukiswa Wanner (South Africa)
The Unseen Leopard by Bridget Pitt (South Africa)
Oil on Water by Helon Habila (Nigeria)
Blood at Bay by Sue Rabie (South Africa)
Banquet at Brabazan by Patricia Schonstein (South Africa)

Africa Best First Book:
Happiness is a Four Letter Word by Cynthia Jele (South Africa)
Bitter Leaf by Chioma Okereke (Nigeria)
The Fossil Artist by Graeme Friedman (South Africa)
Colour Blind by Uzoma Uponi (Nigeria)
Voice of America by E. C. Osondu (Nigeria)
Wall of Days by Alastair Bruce (South Africa)

Canada and Caribbean Best Book:
The Sky is Falling by Caroline Adderson (Canada)
Room by Emma Donahue (Canada)
The Master of Happy Endings by Jack Hodgins (Canada)
In The Fabled East by Adam Lewis Schroeder (Canada)
The Death of Donna Whalen by Michael Winter (Canada)
Mr. Shakespeare’s Bastard by Richard B. Wright (Canada)

Canada and Caribbean Best First Book:
Bird Eat Bird by Katrina Best (Canada)
Doing Dangerously Well by Carole Enahoro (Canada)
Mennonites Don’t Dance by Darcie Friesen Hossack (Canada)
Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod (Canada)
The Cake is for the Party by Sarah Selecky (Canada)
Illustrado by Miguel Syjuco (Canada)

South Asia and Europe Best Book:
Lyrics Alley by Leila Abouleila (UK)
The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore (UK)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (UK)
The Long Song by Andrea Levy (UK)
Sex and Stravinsky by Barbara Trapido (UK)
Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett (UK)

South Asia and Europe Best First Book:
Serious Men by Manu Joseph (India)
Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph (India)
The House with the Blue Shutters by Lisa Hilton (UK)
Children of the Sun by Max Shaefer (UK)
Grace Williams says it Loud by Emma Henderson (UK)
Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller (UK)

South East Asia and Pacific Best Book:
Reading Madame Bovary by Amanda Lohrey (Australia)
That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (Australia)
Time’s Long Ruin by Stephen Orr (Australia)
Hand Me Down World by Lloyd Jones (New Zealand)
Notorious by Roberta Lowing (Australia)
Gifted by Patrick Evans (New Zealand)

South East Asia and Pacific Best First Book:
21 Immortals by Rozlan Mohd Noor (Malaysia)
A Man Melting by Craig Cliff (New Zealand)
The Graphologist’s Apprentice by Whiti Hereaka (New Zealand)
The Body in the Clouds by Ashley Hay (Australia)
Traitor by Stephen Daisley (Australia/New Zealand)
A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill (Australia)

What an enticing list. I'll have to look for several books on it to see what they're about.

I really like how it brings new writers into the literary spotlight.

#55 Thanks for posting the list!
I have read a couple of those, and own a couple. Will be interested to see the winners.
ETA: I have read Room and The Body in the Clouds. Wouldn't give either of these a prize. I own Hand Me Down World and Mr Shakespeare's Bastard.

Thanks, Kerry!

Let's see...I've read Room, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, The Long Song, and Grace Williams Says it Loud; I own The Memory of Love, The Betrayal, and Saraswati Park, all of which I should get to later this year.

I've said it before but doesn't it strike people as strange and/or sad that so few countries are represented - virtually all the African writing is from Nigeria or South Africa; the Caribbean is not represented in it's category; etc. Is it because nothing is really being created in these countries (which is a real possibility, can they sustain any book industry?) or is it that they are just being overlooked because they are so small that their books are not being picked up elsewhere?

#60, I think I noticed this last year too. Part of the Africa thing is that the books have to be from countries that were part of the British commonwealth but that certainly includes more than the countries mentioned, nor does that explain why there are no Caribbean books. Also why is South Asia, which I assume to include India and Pakistan, grouped with Europe -- all the books in the best book category are from the UK, although two from India slip into the best first book category.

>61 rebeccanyc: - there are 19 African countries currently linked to the Commonwealth (including Zimbabwe, which I think is suspended at the moment) and 10 Caribbean countries. You would think that create a wider spread - of course, it could be that the best African and Caribbean writers re-locate to places like Canada, Australia and the UK.

Regional Winners
The final programme of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize will bring together the regional winners from Africa, Caribbean and Canada, South Asia and Europe, and South East Asia and Pacific, at Sydney Writers' Festival (16-22 May). The overall winners of Best Book and Best First Book will be announced on 21 May.

Africa:
Best Book: The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone)
Best First Book: Happiness is a four-letter word by Cynthia Jele (South Africa)

Caribbean and Canada:
Best Book: Room by Emma Donoghue (Canada)
Best First Book: Bird Eat Bird by Katrina Best (Canada)

South Asia and Europe:
Best Book: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (UK)
Best First Book: Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller (UK)

South East Asia and Pacific:
Best Book: That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (Australia)
Best First Book: A Man Melting by Craig Cliff (New Zealand)

Kim Scott is the first Aboriginal author to win the South East Asia and Pacific section of the prize. He is also a former winner of Australia's most presigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin.

I will look for that book, Amanda, but it doesn't seem to be published outside Australia yet. Maybe this prize will help.

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna is the winner of this year's Best Book Award, and A Man Melting by Craig Cliff won the Best First Book Award:

2011 prize: final programme

Aha! And you were recently praising this book, Darryl.

After 25 years the Commonwealth Writers Prize is relaunching and will no longer have a best book category. More details on their website.
http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/NewsArticle.aspx?articleID=172

THIS is the new website for the Commonwealth Prize. There's no archive on it as of yet.

Commonwealth Writers has announced shortlists for the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize and Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Writers from around the world have been shortlisted for each prize in anticipation of becoming a regional winner on 22 May and ultimately competing for overall winner which will be announced at Hay Festival on 8 June.

The Wandering Falcon, Jamil Ahmad (Pakistan), Hamish Hamilton

Patchwork, Ellen Banda-Aaku (Zambia), Penguin Books, South Africa

Rebirth: a novel, Jahnavi Barua (India), Penguin Books India

The Sly Company of People Who Care, Rahul Bhattacharya (India) Picador

The Ottoman Motel, Christopher Currie (Australia), The Text Publishing Company

A Cupboard Full of Coats, Yvvette Edwards (UK), Oneworld Publications

The Book of Answers, CY Gopinath (India), HarperCollins India

Jubilee, Shelley Harris (South Africa), Weidenfeld & Nicolson

The Dancing and the Death on Lemon Street, Denis Hirson (UK), Jacana Media

The Vanishing Act, Mette Jakobsen (Australia), The Text Publishing Company

Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, Shehan Karunatilaka (Sri Lanka), Random House India

Purple Threads, Jeanine Leane (Australia), University of Queensland Press

Sweetheart, Alecia McKenzie (Jamaica), Peepal Tree Press

The Town that Drowned, Riel Nason (Canada), Goose Lane Editions

Dancing Lessons, Olive Senior (Canada), Cormorant Books

The Sentimentalists, Johanna Skibsrud (Canada), William Heinemann

The Dubious Salvation of Jack V, Jacques Strauss (South Africa), Jonathan Cape

Me and Mr Booker, Cory Taylor (Australia), The Text Publishing Company

Pao, Kerry Young (UK), Bloomsbury

Commonwealth Short Story Prize



Morrison Okoli (1955-2010), Jekwu Anyaegbuna (Nigeria)

Flight, Jayne Bauling (South Africa)

The Queen’s Blessing, Edyth Bulbring (South Africa)

Devil Star, Hazel Campbell (Jamaica)

Brothers, Adrienne Frater (New Zealand)

Like a Heart Maybe, but Cold, Chris Hill (UK)

The False River, Nick Holdstock (UK)

Radio Story, Anushka Jasraj (India)

Rush, Nic Low (Australia)

Elbow, Khadija Magardie (South Africa)

Two Girls in a Boat, Emma Martin (New Zealand)

Glory, Janice Lynn Mather (The Bahamas)

The Dolphin Catcher, Diane McCauley (Jamaica)

Friends, Sharon Millar (Trinidad and Tobago)

The Ghost Marriage, Andrea Mullaney (UK)

If These Walls had Ears, Carl Nixon (New Zealand)

Next Full Moon We’ll Release Juno Bridget Pitt (South Africa)

The Crane, Sarah Quigley (New Zealand)

Drums, Mahesh Rao (UK)

Ammulu, Poile Sengupta (India)

Another Dull Day, Sreejith Sukumaran (India)

A regional winner for each prize will be awarded in five regions: Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean, and the Pacific.

Commenting on the shortlisted entries, chair of the Commonwealth Book Prize, Margaret Busby said, “Being a prize for first novels, the judges were looking for potential and promise from the entries. We certainly found what we were hoping for with some consummately accomplished writing from some very interesting writers. Lively debate amongst the judges raised comments on wonderful language and confident characterisation and often challenged us to overcome our prejudice on what makes a novel.”

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 2011, the Commonwealth Foundation re-launched its prizes to form part of Commonwealth Writers. The prizes act as catalysts to target and identify talented writers from different regions who will go on to inspire and inform their local communities.

Thanks for the list. I confess I haven't heard any of these books or authors -- a lot to explore.

I read The Wandering Falcon last year as an Early Reviewer book, and I would definitely say it is award-worthy.

The Sentimentalists won the Giller Prize, but it hasn't received very encouraging reviews here on LT or elsewhere. The other titles are all new to me.

The only one I have read is Pao which I received through the LT Early Reviewer program. Good, but not great so curious to see if anyone else has read any of the books on the list.

I have read The Vanishing Act and I quite liked it. A Cupboard Full of Coats wasn't bad and Me and Mr Booker was excellent. Apart from these three, I haven't heard of many others either.

Thanks for posting this long shortlist, Kerry. I've read four of the novels; Chinaman, the winner of this year's DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, is easily my favorite. It's set in Sri Lanka, and is narrated by a dying sportswriter who is writing a biography of Pradeep Mathew, "Sri Lanka's greatest unsung cricketer." However, the novel is primarily about the people and the postcolonial history of Sri Lanka. My review is on the book's LT home page. BTW, the novel will be published in the US next month, under the title The Legend of Pradeep Mathew.

The other three books I've read were solid but not spectacular: The Wandering Falcon, collection of interconnected short stories set in the remote tribal areas that border Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran; A Cupboard Full of Coats, a novel abut Caribbean immigrants living in East London, which was longlisted for last year's Booker Prize; and Pao, a novel narrated by a Chinese immigrant to China, who becomes a leader in Kingston's Chinese community through his racketeering activities and support of individuals and local businessmen. I've reviewed all three books, two of which I received from the LT Early Reviewer program.

I also own The Sentimentalists, the 2010 Giller Prize winner, but I haven't read it yet.

Darryl -- Chinaman sounds very interesting (who would have thought that a book with such a title is about Sri Lanka? I guess I don't know my cricket terms) Seeing that I'm LT's #1 Sri Lankan lit fan, I'm going to get a copy. Thanks for pointing it out.

>70 avatiakh: no kiwis up for the book prize huh? oh well, maybe next time. Looks to be some good reading amongst the nominated.

Regional Winners announced:

Regional Winner, Africa
Jacques Strauss, South Africa The Dubious Salvation of Jack V, Jonathan Cape

Regional Winner, Asia
Shehan Karunatilaka, Sri Lanka, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, Random House

Regional Winner, Canada and Europe

Riel Nason, Canada, The Town that Drowned, Goose Lane Editions

Regional Winner, Caribbean

Alecia McKenzie, Jamaica, Sweetheart, Peepal Tree Press

Regional Winner, Pacific

Cory Taylor, Australia, Me and Mr Booker, The Text Publishing Company

Commonwealth Short Story Prize Regional winners

Regional Winner, Africa

Jekwu Anyaegbuna, Nigeria, Morrison Okoli (1955-2010)

Regional Winner, Asia

Anushka Jasraj, India, Radio Story

Regional Winner, Canada and Europe

Andrea Mullaney, UK, The Ghost Marriage

Regional Winner, Caribbean

Diana McCaulay, Jamaica, The Dolphin Catcher

Regional Winner, Pacific

Emma Martin, New Zealand, Two Girls in a Boat

I have Chinaman on loan from the library. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka, which was published as The Legend of Pradeep Mathew in the US, is the winner of this year's Commonwealth Writers Prize:

Shehan Karunatilaka wins 2012 Commonwealth book prize

I read it. But although it had a brilliant beginning, it lost me halfway through.

2013 Debut Writers shortlist

Sarah House by Ifeanyi Ajaegbo (Nigeria)
Disposable People, Ezekel Alan (Jamaica)
Floundering, Romy Ash (Australia)
Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron (Canada)
Mazin Grace, Dylan Coleman (Australia)
Tiger in Eden, Chris Flynn (Australia)
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Howard Fry, Rachel Joyce (United Kingdom)
The Headmaster’s Wager, Vincent Lam (Canada)
Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera (Sri Lanka)
The Death of Bees, Lisa O’Donnell (United Kingdom)
The Spider King’s Daughter, Chibundu Onuzo (Nigeria)
Em and the Big Hoom, Jerry Pinto (India)
The Wildings, Nilanjana Roy (India)
The Great Agony and Pure Laughter of the Gods, Jamala Safari (South Africa)
The Last Thread, Michael Sala (Australia)
The Other Side of Light, Mishi Saran (India)
God on Every Wind, Farhad Sorabjee (India)
Sterile Sky, E.E. Sule (Nigeria)
Narcopolis, Jeet Thayil (India)
Beneath the Darkening Sky, Majok Tulba (Australia)
The Bellwether Revivals, Benjamin Wood (United Kingdom)

CK'ed them. Thanx

Interesting list. Will come back to investigate them more, since the only ones I've heard of are Narcopolis, which I've read, and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

I haven't read any of these yet but picked up a copy of The Spider King's Daughter a few weeks ago. Onuzo was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize as well.
LTer anzlitlovers has reviewed of several of these books on her blog- http://anzlitlovers.com/

I've read four of these and out of those I think Running the Rift should be on the top of the list.

The Commonwealth Prize is being discontinued and from 2014 they will only continue with the short story award: http://www.commonwealthwriters.org/prizes/
'The Short Story Prize enables writers to enter from countries where there is little or no publishing industry. Authors writing in languages other than English are also able to enter stories translated into English. The Prize unearths and promotes the best new writing from across the Commonwealth, developing literary connections worldwide.'