The Commonwealth Foundation has unveiled the five regional winners of the 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and Reena Usha Rungoo carried the day as the winner of the African Region with her short story, “Dite”.
The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organization mandated by its Member States to advance the interests of Commonwealth civil society with the vision of upholding a firm commitment to the principles and ideals of the Commonwealth, the Foundation seeks to nurture the growth of vibrant and free societies.
Chair of the Judges, Ugandan-British novelist and short story writer Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi says:
“The short story form has neither the luxury of time nor the comfort of space. It is an impatient form; it does not dance around. The punch of a good short story leaves you breathless. As the judging panel, we enjoyed, sorrowed, celebrated and eventually agreed that these stories came up on top of the different regions“.
Reena Usha Rungoo is a Mauritian writer, scholar, teacher, speaker, and mother. As an islander, an African and a diasporic South Asian, she uses the language of fiction (whether as a writer or a literary critic) to speak on how colonial violence infiltrates our beings, our languages and our desires, and on the creative ways in which we resist. She is an assistant professor of literature at Harvard University.
The five regional winners will go through to the final round of judging and the overall winner will be announced on 26 June 2024. Their stories will be published online by the literary magazine Granta.
For more information on the prize and the winners, kindly click here.
Congratulations Reena!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
