Dr. Nova Gordon-Bell’s Confluence has made the shortlist for the 2016 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Gordon-Bell is one of two Caribbean writers on the shortlist, the other being Lance Dowrich of Trinidad and Tobago with Ethelbert and the Free Cheese.

The 26 short stories were selected out of 4,000 entries from 47 countries.

The regional winners will be announced on May 4 and the winning stories will be published on Granta online. Commonwealth Writers is also working with the literary agents Aitken Alexander Associates Ltd to identify writers through this year’s prize, which is part funded by the Sigrid Rausing Trust.

The prize is judged by an international panel of writers, representing each of the five regions of the Commonwealth. The 2016 judges are Helon Habila (Africa), Firdous Azim (Asia), Pierre J Mejlak (Canada and Europe), Olive Senior (Caribbean) and Patrick Holland (Pacific).

Now in its fifth year, the prize is for the best piece of unpublished short fiction in English. The shortlist covers a wide range of subject matter, from rivalry between chefs, a community of puppeteers in Delhi, society and class in Jamaica, genocide and revenge, to an advertising campaign for chewing gum in India and the heartbreak of Alzheimer’s.

For full article, see http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20160412/nova-gordon-bell-commonwealth-prize-shortlist

Also see a description of all finalists and their work at http://www.commonwealthwriters.org/2016-commonwealth-short-story-prize-shortlist/