Persaud beats Emezi, others, wins Commonwealth Prize

Ingrid Persaud from Trinidad and Tobago has been announced overall winner for the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her story ‘The Sweet Sop’. She beat other regional winners of the prize, including Nigeria’s Akaeke Emezi. The award was presented at The Arts House, which was Singapore’s first Parliament House, by Singapore’s most prolific writer […]

Ingrid Persaud from Trinidad and Tobago has been announced overall winner for the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her story ‘The Sweet Sop’. She beat other regional winners of the prize, including Nigeria’s Akaeke Emezi.

The award was presented at The Arts House, which was Singapore’s first Parliament House, by Singapore’s most prolific writer of English fiction, Ms Catherine Lim.

The Chair of the judging panel, novelist Kamila Shamsie, said that “the judges were very impressed by ‘The Sweet Sop’s’ originality, the strength of its characterisation, the control of voice, and its humour and emotional punch. It loses none of its effectiveness on a second or third or fourth re-reading, always the mark of a rich and layered story.”

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is given to five winning writers from five different commonwealth regions. The winners share a total prize of £15, 000, while the overall winner receives £5, 000. This year, Nigeria’s Emezi won the regional prize for Africa for her story, ‘Who is Like God’.