Announcement of overall winners: 21 May 2011
The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, internationally recognised for promoting ground-breaking works of fiction from across the globe, has announced an eclectic mix of writers from the four regions of the Commonwealth who will be heading to the final stages of the competition at Sydney Writers’ Festival in May.
The regional prize winners are:
Africa:
- Best Book: The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone)
- Best First Book: Happiness is a four-letter word by Cynthia Jele (South Africa)
Caribbean and Canada:
- Best Book: Room by Emma Donoghue (Canada)
- Best First Book: Bird Eat Bird by Katrina Best (Canada)
South Asia and Europe:
- Best Book: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (UK)
- Best First Book: Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller (UK)
South East Asia and Pacific:
- Best Book: That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (Australia)
- Best First Book: A Man Melting by Craig Cliff (New Zealand)
The final programme of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize will bring together the regional winners from Africa, Caribbean and Canada, South Asia and Europe, and South East Asia and Pacific, at Sydney Writers’ Festival (16-22 May). The overall winners of Best Book and Best First Book will be announced on 21 May.