Kenyan writer Ken Odak Odumbe has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2026 with his piece The Runner’s Gift, and stands to win £5,000 (Sh 877,307) award.
Five regional winners will be announced on May 13, with each receiving Sh438,654 (£2,500). The overall winner will be announced in late June at the Commonwealth Short Story Prize Award Ceremony and will receive Sh877,000 (£5,000).
“As one of these 25 shortlisted writers and the only Kenyan contestant, I look forward to the regional winners and the overall winner ceremony,” Odumbe said.
The international five-judge panel has selected 25 writers from a pool of 7,806 entrants. The prize, one of the most global in literature, has shortlisted 11 men and 14 women, ranging in age from 25 to 68, from 14 Commonwealth countries.
From Africa, Nigeria leads with four shortlists: Hussani Abdulrahim for Arewa Girls, Oluwatoke Adejoye for New Things, Ola W. Halim for Shock Me I Shock You, and Dawn Immanuel for The God under the Bed.
The Commonwealth Foundation noted new milestones this year, including a Maltese writer being on the shortlist for the first time, while 22 writers are new to this stage of the Prize. Stories written in Bengali and Malay were also recognised.
The Commonwealth Foundation said the shortlisted stories cover many subjects, from family relationships and love stories to migration, natural disasters and the human cost of war.
The stories follow musicians, athletes, migrant workers and even a stray dog and traverse rural and urban life. They explore bereavement, forbidden love, displacement, memory, identity, resilience, and the search for belonging.
Chair of judges Louise Doughty said that the writers in the shortlist created pieces that can develop into novels.
“Ultimately, our choices for the shortlist came down to authors who were not only excellent writers but, we felt, also had a grasp on the unique pleasures of the short story form, how it is a miniature carved in words that holds all the potential of a full-length novel in a few dense brushstrokes,” Doughty said.
Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation Razmi Farook said that the Commonwealth Short Story Prize becomes more competitive each year.
“Storytelling continues to play a vital role in opening up alternative narratives and offering space for voices and perspectives that bring depth and context to the pressing issues facing Commonwealth citizens today,” Farook said.
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded each year for the best unpublished short fiction from any of the Commonwealth’s 56 member countries. It accepts entries in English as well as Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil and Turkish.
Here is the full Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2026 shortlist:
Africa
The Runner’s Gift by Ken Odak Odumbe (Kenya)
Arewa Girls by Hussani Abdulrahim (Nigeria)
New Things by Oluwatoke Adejoye (Nigeria)
Shock Me I Shock You by Ola W. Halim (Nigeria)
The God under the Bed by Dawn Immanuel (Nigeria)
Orchard of Blackbirds by Lois Akoma Antwi (Ghana)
Me and Ma’am by Lisa-Anne Julien (South Africa)
Asia
Mehendi Nights by Sharon Aruparayil (India)
The Miles Between Us by Jacqueline Chang (Singapore)
Thirty-One Steps by Rafaa Dalvi (India)
Fighting Elsewhere by Rupsa Dey (India)
A Masculine Fest Anmana Manishita (Bangladesh)
The Missing Half (‘Separuh Yang Hilang’) by Mohamed Nasser Mohamed (Malaysia) translated from Malay into English by Pauline Fan
No Spark in Mafiz’s Relationship (‘Mofiz – er Relation e Spark Nai’) by Shazed Ul Hoq Abir (Bangladesh) translated from Bengali into English by Arunava Sinha and Shabnam Nadiya
Canada and Europe
Saudade by Alison Armstrong (UK)
The Bastion’s Shadow by John Edward DeMicoli (Malta)
Chiddingfold by Jennifer Harvey (UK)
Caribbean
Pot Hound Republic by Roger-Mark De Souza (Trinidad and Tobago)
Pom Pom Peedeem Pom by Jason Dookeran (Trinidad and Tobago)
River Mouth by Jochelle Greaves Siew (Trinidad and Tobago)
The Metamorphosis of Miss Alice by Cosmata Lindie (Guyana)
Plenty Time by Celeste Mohammed (Trinidad and Tobago)
The Serpent in the Grove by Jamir Nazir (Trinidad and Tobago)
Pacific
Bitter Water Village by M.S. Bhatia (Australia)
Second Skin by Holly Ann Miller (New Zealand)