Ugandan writer and software engineer, Joshua Lubwama has been announced as the 2025 regional winner for Africa in the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize for his story “Mothers Not Appearing in Search”, joining four other regional winners from around the world.
The Commonwealth Foundation described Lubwama’s piece as a tale about a football-obsessed young man who befriends Fatima, a new and unconventional arrival in the neighbourhood. Fatima aids him in pursuing his sporting ambitions, despite disapproval from his mother.
Lubwama said the story was partly based on personal experience. In his words:
“Our late grandmother’s illiteracy and her diligent efforts to conceal it were suddenly brought to our awareness by the arrival into the neighbourhood of a young, charitable woman, setting up the stage for a clash of generations, which looking back had a lot more to it than I could ever have figured out at ten years old.”
Commenting on his win, Lubwama said:
“This win has given me licence to dream. For this story—‘Mothers Not Appearing in Search’—to appeal to an international panel of judges means the world to me. One day you’re spending lonesome hours at the dining table wrestling a story into existence—with the entire process shrouded in self-doubt—and then the next, these Commonwealth Foundation people are telling you they’re absolutely thrilled to let you know that you’re shortlisted, and then there’s more. It’s really a testament to the power and ability of stories to connect us through our shared experiences, each of us recognising bits and aspects of our own lives in the tales of others.”
The judge for the Africa region, Cameroonian author and scholar Nsah Mala, praised the winning entry for its “elegant prose, sense of humour, and thematic novelties.” He said:
“Coming out from Africa as the most youthful continent on Earth, this story is an arresting narration of youthfulness and football. And it also wittily evokes fate, love and women’s empowerment. As the story suggests, the path to one’s destiny is not paved with angels only. What a memorable story!”
Lubwama, who was previously longlisted for the 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the 2023 and 2024 Afritondo Short Story Prizes, now progresses to the final stage of the competition.
Administered by the Commonwealth Foundation, the prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction from any of the 56 Commonwealth member countries. It is the most accessible and international of all writing competitions, accepting submissions in multiple languages including Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil, and Turkish.
Each of the five regional winners receives £2,500, while the overall winner receives £5,000. All winning stories will be published online by the literary magazine Granta, and in print by Paper + Ink. As part of the Foundation’s partnership with The London Library, the overall winner receives two years’ Full Membership to the Library, and regional winners receive one year’s Full Membership.
The full list of 2025 regional winners is as follows:
- Africa: “Mothers Not Appearing in Search” by Joshua Lubwama (Uganda)
- Asia: “An Eye and a Leg” by Faria Basher (Bangladesh)
- Canada/Europe: “Descend” by Chanel Sutherland (Canada/Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
- Caribbean: “Margot’s Run” by Subraj Singh (Guyana)
- Pacific: “Crab Sticks and Lobster Rolls” by Kathleen Ridgwell (Australia)
Chair of the Judges, Dr Vilsoni Hereniko, said:
“These stories illuminate many aspects of human nature and demonstrate true mastery of the short story form. Each tale shows that geography matters in storytelling. They are works of fiction that are inseparable from the local culture and history from which they have sprung. They have colour and emotional resonance—and they moved me deeply. Congratulations to the regional winners and judges!”
Granta’s Deputy Editor and Managing Director Luke Neima said:
“Every year, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize brings us a thrilling wave of new literary voices, and this year’s winners are no exception. These stories are urgent, imaginative, and deeply human—a testament to the power of storytelling across borders.”
The overall winner of the 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize will be announced in an online ceremony at 1 PM BST on Wednesday, 25 June.
For more information and updates, visit Commonwealth Foundation Short Story Prize.
Congratulations, Joshua Lubwama and all regional winners!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
