One of the wonderful things about blogging is being able to connect with people on a global scale. This week I received an email from Emma D’Costa from the Commonwealth Foundation in London with news about an exciting cultural initiative that they currently have called the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. It was advised that this cultural initiative includes the Pacific Region: Australia, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Sending a special thanks to a Fijian Artist, Writer, Editor, Academic and Spoken Word Artist, Cresantia Frances Koya for the referral.
Commonwealth Writers inspires, develops and connects writers and storytellers in a range of disciplines. It builds communities of less-heard voices and links them to groups which seek to bring about social change. The 2013 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Winners are shown below:
Whilst the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize is open to other regions (to view the click HERE) I would particularly like to encourage new and emerging writers who reside in the PACIFIC REGION. This is a wonderful opportunity to share our stories from the Pacific. Please help spread the word.
There is no fee for submitting an entry. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000-5,000 words) in English. Short stories translated into English are also eligible. There is no fee for submitting an entry.
Open for entry 1 October – 30 November 2013
The regional winners of the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive £2,500 and the overall winner will receive £5,000. Translators of winning stories will receive additional prize money. WOW!
“My hope is that writers from across the Commonwealth will be encouraged to send us stories that bring us news of wherever they are, in the wide variety of voices and accents that make up the English language. It would be wonderful to see submissions from bold stylists and stories that experiment with the form as well as more traditional approaches to the short story. This prize celebrates the power of the short story to spin a tale that concentrates experience and character in such specificity that the local is transformed to significance far beyond its borders. This is the magic of good writing, and this is what I hope we will find.” – Ellah Allfrey, Chair, 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
Wishing ALL writers who will enter this competition the very best!
To view the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Judges, click HERE
For entry rules and the online entry form, click HERE
For more info about the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, click HERE
For the official Commonwealth Writers website: www.commonwealthwriters.org
Creative Talanoa 
Hmm…The commonwealth is still appears to be upset about that little war we had with them here in the States. 🙂