Kritika Pandey Wins 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
- Kritika Pandey has become the overall winner of the £5000 Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2020 for her story ‘The Great Indian Tee and Snakes’ in June 2020. She was presented the said award by the Chair of the 2020 judging panel – the acclaimed Ghanaian writer and editor, Nii Ayikwei Parkes in the first-ever online ceremony held during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The said 2020 award panel is chaired by Nii Ayikwei Parkes, and it included South African writer and musician Mohale Mashigo (Judge for Africa), Executive Director of the Singapore Books Council William Phuan (Asia), Canadian author Heather O’Neill (Canada and Europe), Trinidadian scholar and writer Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw (Caribbean), and an Australian writer and arts organiser Nic Low (Pacific). Check the Award Ceremony of 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
- ‘I’ve experienced every possible emotion ever since I received the news. At times, I’m overwhelmed with joy, gratitude, and a sense of fulfillment or reeling with disbelief. At other times, I’m devastated by the fate of my fictional characters who seem all too real to me, a feeling compounded by the tragedies presently unfolding around us. However, more than anything else, this prize strengthens my will to write. It tells me that all those days when I lock myself in my room to stare into a computer screen, unsettled and unsure, might just be a worthwhile way of engaging with the world. It reminds me that I must, therefore, continue to inquire into the human condition, to make sense of existence, to listen carefully, to resist, and to hope.’
- Every year, The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded for the best unpublished short fiction. It should range from 2,000-5000 words in English. Any Commonwealth citizens aged 18 years and above is eligible for it. This year, the prize received over 5000 entries from 49 countries. The judging panel is well represented, with each representing five regions of the Commonwealth.
About Commoanwealth Foundation-
The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation that was established by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1966, a year after its sister organisation, the Commonwealth Secretariat.
- Founded – 1966
- Headquarters– London, United Kingdom
- Director-General – Anne Gallagher
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