Pacific shortlist showcases writers from New Zealand, Australia and Samoa, include Maria Samuela, (shortlisted in 2019), and this year’s youngest shortlisted writer, 21-year-old Gillian Leasunia Katoanga.
Judging panel praise stories that are ‘relevant, vibrant and essential reading’
Selected from almost eight thousand entries, the stories range from historical fiction to satire, via crime and speculative writing, family dramas and coming-of-age stories
Writers tackle ambitious and challenging topics ranging from human trafficking, war and bereavement to motherhood, unlikely friendships and unexpected love.
An international judging panel has shortlisted twenty-five outstanding stories for the world’s most global literature prize. The shortlisted writers hail from 18 countries across the Commonwealth and will all move through to the next round of judging.
Chair of the Judges, writer and filmmaker Dr Vilsoni Hereniko from Rotuma, Fiji, said,
‘A great story moves us, causes us to think, and sometimes changes us. When a whole life, or a slice of life, is distilled into a short story, we marvel at the writer’s ability to find the perfect sequence of events and fit them into the short story form.”
Shortlist authors from the Pacific region:
-Crab Sticks and Lobster Rolls’ by Kathleen Ridgwell (Australia)
-‘The Drum and the Bell’ by Keith Goh Johnson (Australia)
-‘Threads of Truth’ by Lachlan Alexander (Australia)
-‘The Pale Blue Dot’ by Angela Pope (New Zealand)
-‘We’ll meet again’ by Maria Samuela (New Zealand)
-Final Effort of the Wind’ by Gillian Leasunia Katoanga (Samoa/New Zealand)
Five regional winners each representing the five regions of the Commonwealth will be announced on Wednesday 14 May, and the overall winner will be announced on Wednesday 25 June.
