caribousmom Rotating Header Image

Commonwealth Writers Prize – Winners and Finalists: 2007-Present

The Commonwealth Foundation established the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 1987 to encourage and reward the upsurge of new Commonwealth fiction and ensure that works of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin. To read more about the prize, visit the Commonwealth Foundation website.

Books I’ve Read are Highlighted in BLUE; follow the link for my reviews

2010 Lists

Africa
Best Book
The Double Crown by Marié Heese (South Africa) - WINNER
Trespass by Dawn Garisch (South Africa)
The Double Crown by Marié Heese (South Africa)
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
Eyo by Abidemi Sanusi (Nigeria)
Tsamma Season by Rosemund Handler (South Africa)
Refuge by Andrew Brown (South Africa)
Kings of the Water by Mark Behr (South Africa)
Best First Book
I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Nigeria) - WINNER
The Shape of Him by Gill Schierhout (South Africa)
The Shadow of a Smile by Kachi Ozumba (Nigeria)
Come Sunday by Isla Morley (South Africa)
Sleepers Wake by Alistair Morgan (South Africa)
Jelly Dog Days by Erica Emdon (South Africa)
Harmattan Rain by Aysha Harunna Attah (Ghana)
Caribbean and Canada

Best Book
Galore by Michael Crummey (Canada) – WINNER
The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels (Canada)
February by Lisa Moore (Canada)
Euphoria by Connie Gault (Canada)
Goya’s Dog by Damian Tarnopolsky (Canada)
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (Canada)
Best First Book
Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell (Canada) – WINNER
Daniel O’Thunder by Ian Weir (Canada)
The Island Quintet: Five Stories by Raymond Ramcharitar (Trinidad)
Diary of Interrupted Days by Dragan Todorovic (Canada)
The Briss by Michael Tregebov (Canada)
Amphibian by Carla Gunn (Canada)
South Asia and Europe

Best Book
Solo by Rana Dasgupta (Britain) – WINNER
For Pepper and Christ: A Novel by Keki Daruwalla (India)
The Beijing of Possibilities by Jonathan Tel (Britain)
Heartland by Anthony Catwright (Britain)
Another Gulmohar Tree by Aamer Hussein (Pakistan)
The Immortals by Amit Chaudhuri (India)
Best First Book
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin (Pakistan) - WINNER
The Hungry Ghosts by Anne Berry (Britain)
Arzee the Dwarf by Chandrahas Choudhury (India)
Among Thieves by Mez Packer (Britain)
An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay (Britain)
Tail of the Blue Bird by Nii Parkes (Britain)
South East Asia and Pacific

Best Book

The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt (Samoa) – WINNER
Summertime by J.M Coetzee (Australia)
A Good Land by Nada Awar Jarrar (Australia)
Singularity by Charlotte Grimshaw (New Zealand)
The People’s Train by Thomas Keneally (Australia)
Parrot and Oliver in America by Peter Carey (Australia)
Best First Book
Siddon Rock by Glenda Guest (Australia) – WINNER
The Ice Age by Kirsten Reed (Australia)
After the fire, a still small voice by Evie Wyld (Australia)
Look Who’s Morphing by Tom Cho (Australia)
Document Z by Andrew Croome (Australia)
Come Inside by Glenys Osborne (Australia)

2009 Lists

Africa

Best Book

The Lost Colours of the Chameleon, by Mandla Langa (South Africa), Picador Africa – WINNER

The Imposter, by Damon Galgut (South Africa), Penguin
My Life with the Duvals , by Tim Keegan (South Africa), Umuzi
Beauty’s Gift, by Sindiwe Magona (South Africa) , Kwela books
The One That Got Away, by Zoe Wicomb (South Africa), Umuzi

Best First Book

Say You’re One of Them, by Uwem Akpan (Nigeria), Abacus – WINNER

Random Violence, by Jassy Mackenzie (South Africa), Umuzi
Till We Can Keep An Animal, by Megan Voysey-Braig (South Africa), Jacana Media
Shepherds and Butchers, by Chris Mamewick (South Africa), Umuzi
Boston Snowplough, by Sue Rabie (South Africa), Human & Rousseau
Porcupine, by Jane Bennett (South Africa ), Kwela Books

Canada and Caribbean

Best Book

Good to a Fault, by Marina Endicott (Canada), Freehand Books – WINNER

Blackstrap Hawco, by Kenneth J Harvey (Canada), Random House Canada
The Origin of Species, by Nino Ricci (Canada), Doubleday Canada
Pynter Bender, by Jacob Ross(Grenada), Fourth Estate
Chef, by Jaspreet Singh (Canada), Véhicule Press
The Great Karoo, by Fred Stenson (Canada), Doubleday Canada

Best First Book

Reading By Lightning, by Joan Thomas (Canada), Goose Lane Editions – WINNER

Cleavage, by Theanna Bischoff (Canada), NeWest Press
Silver Salts, by Mark Blagrave (Canada), Cormorant Books
Blackouts, by Craig Boyko (Canada), McClelland and Stewart
The Sherpa and Other Fictions, by Nila Gupta (Canada), Sumach Press
The Withdrawal Method, by Pasha Malla (Canada),  House of Anansi Press
The Toss of a Lemon, by Padma Viswanathan (Canada), Random House Canada

Europe and South Asia

Best Book

Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri (United Kingdom), Bloomsbury Publishing – WINNER – read my review

The Other Hand, by Chris Cleave (United Kingdom), Sceptre
The Country of Deceit, by Shashi Deshpande (India), Penguin
The Northern Clemency, by Philip Hensher (United Kingdom), Fourth Estate
Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge (United Kingdom), Harvill Secker
The Enchantress of Florence, by Salman Rushdie (United Kingdom), Random House

Best First Book

The Case of Exploding Mangoes, by Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan), Jonathan Cape - WINNER

The Consequences of Love, by Sulaiman Addonia (United Kingdom), Chatto and Windus
Broken, by Daniel Clay (United Kingdom), HarperPress
Submarine, by Joe Dunthorne (United Kingdom), Hamish Hamilton/Penguin
Breathless in Bombay, by Murzban Shroff (India), St. Martin’s Griffin
The End of Sleep, by Rowan Somerville (United Kingdom), Weidenfield and Nicholson

South East Asia and the Pacific

Best Book

The Slap, by Christos Tsiolkas (Australia), Allen and Unwin – WINNER

Between The Assassinations, by Aravind Adiga (Australia), Atlantic Books
The Spare Room, by Helen Garner (Australia), The Text Publishing Company
The Good Parents, by Joan London (Australia), Random House Australia (Vintage Imprint)
Forbidden Cities, by Paula Morris (New Zealand), Penguin New Zealand
Breath, by Tim Winton, (Australia), Penguin/Hamish Hamilton

Best First Book

The Year of The Shanghai Shark, by Mo Zhi Hong  (New Zealand), Penguin New Zealand – WINNER

The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga (Australia), Atlantic Books – read my review
 The Boat, by Nam Le (Australia), Hamish Hamilton
Misconduct, by Bridget van der Zijpp (New Zealand), Victoria University Press
Evening is the Whole, by Preeta Samarasan (Malaysian), Day Fourth Estate
The Shallow End, by Ashley Sievwright (Australia), Clouds of Magellan

2008 Lists


Africa

Best Book

The Hangman’s Game, by Karen King-Aribisala (Nigeria) Peepal Tree Press – WINNER
End, by Barbara Adair (South Africa) Jacana Media
Waiting for Maria, by Ifeoma Chinwuba (Nigeria) Spectrum Books
Flyleaf, by Finuala Dowling(South Africa) Penguin Books SA
Quarter Tones, by Susan Mann (South Africa ) Harvill Secker
Cion, by Zakes Mda (South Africa) Penguin Books SA

Best First Book

Imagine, by Sade Adeniran (Nigeria) This SW Books – WINNER
Blood Kin, by Ceridwen Dovey (South Africa) Penguin Books SA
Reading the Ceiling, by Dayo Forster (Gambia) Simon and Schuster
A Fragile Hope, by Ken Kamoche (Kenya) Salt Publishing
The Story of Maha, by Sumayya Lee (South Africa) South Africa Kwela Books
No Man’s Land, by Carel van der Merwe (South Africa) Umuzi

Canada And The Caribbean

Best Book

The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill (Canada) HarperCollins Publishers – WINNER – Read my review
The Outlander, by Gil Adamson (Canada) House of Anansi Press – Read my review
The Rainmaker’s Mistake, by Erna Brodber (Jamaica) New Beacon Books
The Culprits, by Robert Hough (Canada) Canada Random House Canada
Remembering the Bones, by Frances Itani (Canada) HarperCollins Publishers
Divisadero, by Michael Ondaatje (Canada) Bloomsbury Publishing/ McClelland & Stewart

Best First Book

The End of the Alphabet, by C.S. Richardson (Canada) Doubleday Canada – WINNER
Soucouyant, by David Chariandy (Canada) Arsenal Pulp Press
Town House, by Tish Cohen (Canada) HarperCollins Publishers
Post, by Arley McNeney (Canada) Thistledown Press
The Silent Raga, by Ameen Merchant (Canada) Douglas & McIntyre
Bang Crunch, by Neil Smith (Canada) Knopf Canada

Europe and South Asia

Best Book

Animal’s People, by Indra Sinha (India ) Simon and Schuster – WINNER
The Solitude of Emperors, by David Davidar (India ) Weidenfeld & Nicholson
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan) Viking, Penguin Books India Ltd/Hamish Hamilton – read my review
Girl and a River, by Usha K.R. (India) Penguin Books India Ltd PVT
My Revolutions, by Hari Kunzru (Britain) Hamish Hamilton
Secrets of the Sea, by Nicholas Shakespeare (Britain) Harvill Secker

Best First Book

A Golden Age, by Tahmima Anam (Bangladesh) John Murray – WINNER
Ishq and Mushq, by Priya Basil (Britain) Transworld Publishers
Tunnel Vision, by Shandana Minhas (Britain) Roli Books
What Was Lost, by Catherine O’Flynn (Britain ) Tindal Street Press
Salt, by Jeremy Page (Britain) Viking, Penguin
The Illumination of Merton Browne, by JM Shaw (Britain) Sceptre

South East Asia and South Pacific

Best Book Award

The Time We Have Taken, by Steven Carroll (Australia) HarperCollins – WINNER
The Ghosts Child, by Sonya Hartnett (Australia) Penguin Australia
The Crimes of Billy Fish, by Sarah Hopkins (Australia) ABC Books
Burning In, by Mireille Juchau (Australia) Australia Giramondo
The Lost Dog, by Michelle De Kretser (Australia) Australia Allen & Unwin
Landscape Farewell, by Alex Miller (Australia) Allen & Unwin

Best First Book Award

The Anatomy of Wings, by Karen Foxlee (Australia) Australia UQP - WINNER
The Zookeepers War, by Steven Conte (Australia) Australia Harper Collins
The Orphan Gunner, by Sara Knox (Australia) Giramondo
Night in the Asylum, by Carol Lefevre (Australia) Picador
The Edge of the World, by Marcella Polain (Australia) Fremantle Press
Other Country, by Stephen Scourfield (Australia) Allen & Unwin

2007 Lists


Africa

Best Book

Native Commissioner, by Shaun Johnson (South Africa), Penguin Books – WINNER
What Kind of Child, by Ken Barris (South Africa), Kwela Books
Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria), Harper Collins – Read my review
The Wizard of the Crow, by Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Kenya), Random House UK
Playing in the Light, by Zoe Wicomb (South Africa), Umuzi
Song of the Atman, by Ronnie Govender (South Africa), Jacana

Best First Book

All We Have Left Unsaid, by Maxime Case (South Africa), Kwela Books - WINNER
Ice in the Lungs, by Gerald Kraak (South Africa), Jacana
A Life Elsewhere, by Segun Afolabi (Nigeria), Jonathan Cape
Room 207, by Kgebeti Moele (South Africa), Kwela Books
The Beggar’s Sign Writer, by Louis Greenberg (South Africa), Umuzi
The Shadow Follows, by David Medalie (South Africa), Picador Africa

Canada and the Caribbean

Best Book

The Friends of Meager Fortune, by David Adams Richards (Canada), Doubleday – WINNER
CanadaThe Law of Dreams, by Peter Behrens (Canada), House of Anansi Press
Chutney Power, by Willi Chen (Trinidad), Macmillan Caribbean
Fabrizio’s Return, by Mark Frutkin (Canada), Knopf Canada
The Emperor’s Children, by Claire Messud (Canada), Picador – read my review
The Unfortunate Marriage of Azeb Yitades, by Nega Mezlekia (Canada), Penguin Group (Canada)
The View from Castle Rock, by Alice Munro (Canada), Chatto and Windus – read my review

Best First Book

Vandal Love, by D.Y. Bechard (Canada), Doubleday – WINNER
Baby Khaki’s Wings, by Anar Ali (Canada), Viking
De Niro’s Game, by Rawi Hage (Canada), House of Anansi Press
The Fear of Stones, by Kei Miller (Jamaica), Macmillan Caribbean
Indigenous Beasts, by Nathan Sellyn (Canada), Raincoast Books
The Hour of Bad Decisions, by Russell Wangersky (Canada), Coteau Books

Europe and South Asia

Best Book

The Perfect Man, by Naeem Murr (UK), Heinemann – WINNER
Sacred Games, by Vikram Chandra (India), Penguin
Miss Webster and Chérif, by Patricia Duncker (UK), Bloomsbury
The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne (Sri Lanka), Perera Hussein
Carry Me Down, by M J Hyland (UK), Canongate
Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell (UK), Sceptre – read my review
The Testament of Gideon Mack, by James Robertson (UK), Hamish Hamilton

Best First Book

In the Country of Men, by Hisham Matar (UK), Viking – WINNER
The Saffron Kitchen, by Yasmin Crowther (UK) Abacus/Little Brown
The Mathematics of Love, by Emma Darwin (UK) Headline/Review
This Time of Dying, by Reina James (UK) Portobello
Giraffe, by J M Ledgard (UK), Jonathan Cape
Londonstani, by Gautam Malkani (UK), Fourth Estate
The Amnesia Clinic, by James Scudamore (UK), Harvill Secker

South East Asia and South Pacific

Best Book

Mr Pip, by Lloyd Jones (New Zealand), Penguin – WINNER
Ocean Roads, by James George (New Zealand), Huia
Theft: A Love Story, by Peter Carey (Australia), Knopf/Random House
Carpentaria, by Alexis Wright (Australia), Giramondo
The Fainter, by Damien Wilkins (New Zealand), Victoria University Press
Red Spikes, by Margo Lanagan (Australia), Allen and Unwin
Careless, by Deborah Robertson (Australia), Picador

Best First Book

Tuvalu by Andrew O’Connor (Australia), Allen and Unwin – WINNER
Davey Darling by Paul Shannon (New Zealand), Penguin
The Fish & Chip Song, by Carl Nixon (New Zealand), Vintage
The Long Road of the Junkmailer, by Patrick Holland (Australia), UQP
Poinciana, by Jane Turner Goldsmith (Australia), Wakefield

Leave a Reply