Recreation

Commonwealth Writers

Christchurch City Libraries lists literary prize winners and links to catalogue searches, but we may not hold copies of all titles mentioned.

The Commonwealth Writers award was launched in 2012, to replace the Commonwealth Writers Prize which ran from 1987 to 2011. Commonwealth Writers expands the breadth of the Prizes to include translated and self-published books. It awards two prizes: the Commonwealth Book Prize and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

The Commonwealth Book Prize is awarded for a best first book published in the previous year. Regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £10,000.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2000-5000 words). Regional winners receive £1,000 and the overall winner receives £5,000.

2013

Book Prize
Cover: The death of beesThe death of bees Lisa O’Donnell (United Kingdom)
Short Story Prize (joint winners)
The whale house Sharon Millar (Trinidad and Tobago)
We walked on water Eliza Robertson (Canada)

2012

Book Prize
Chinaman: the legend of Pradeep Mathew Shehan Karunatilaka (Sri Lanka)
Short Story Prize
Two girls in a boat Emma Martin (New Zealand)