A VINCENTIAN born British resident has been announced as one of five regional winners of this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Competition. Cecil Browne, with his short story titled: ‘A Hat for Lemer’ was the winner for the region Canada & Europe-United Kingdom.

The winning stories for Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific were drawn from a shortlist of 26 authors, following a record-breaking 6,730 entries this year, a release from the Commonwealth Foundation states. In another breakthrough for the prize, the regional winners include authors from Eswatini, Singapore and St Vincent and the Grenadines for the very first time, it notes. For all five of our astonishing winners, this global writing accolade will support their careers and ensure their stories are read right across the world, the release further states.

Browne, a college lecturer in Maths was born in St Vincent and the Grenadines, but has lived in the UK since his teens.

“Knowing that my entry was shortlisted was a really fabulous feeling, discovering that I was the regional winner has filled me with joy,” he said.

The winner for the Caribbean is Jamaican Diana McCaulay with a submission, ‘Bridge Over the Yallahs River’.

McCaulay is an environmental activist and writer.

“I wanted to write about the conflict I saw during my environmental life – the heavy costs of what we call ‘development,’” she said.

“Our top five authors mark the incredible diversity of talent and imagination across the Commonwealth,” the release from the Foundation affirms.

Each regional winner has been awarded £2,500 and will have their stories published online in Granta, the magazine of new writing.

The prize’s international panel of judges is now undertaking their final deliberations. Next month, the overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2022 will be announced in a special online award ceremony on June 21.