Submissions are Now Open for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Name of the Event: 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Last Date of Application: 1 November 2025

Link to Apply:

Submit Here

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is an annual award for unpublished short fiction administered and funded by the Commonwealth Foundation.

The prize is free to enter and open to any citizen of a Commonwealth country aged 18 and over. It is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000–5,000 words).

An international judging panel will select a shortlist of around twenty-five stories, from which five regional winners are chosen. One of the regional winners is then selected as the overall winner, who receives £5,000. The regional winners will receive £2,500. All five regional winning stories will be published on Granta.

Eligibility:

• Entrants must be citizens of a Commonwealth country or stateless persons currently residing in a Commonwealth country.

• For regional purposes, entries will be judged by country of citizenship.

• There is no requirement for the writer to have a current residence in a Commonwealth country, provided that they are a citizen of a Commonwealth country.

• Entrants must be aged 18 years or over on 1 November 2025.

• Entries from previous overall winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize are not eligible.

• Entries from current members of staff at the Commonwealth Foundation are not eligible.

• Entries must be unpublished and remain unpublished in any language until 1 May 2026.

  
  

We are not the official organisers of the program. If you have any queries regarding it, kindly contact the organisers at: creatives@commonwealthfoundation.com