The Commonwealth Writers' Prize was established in 1987 "to encourage and reward the upsurge of new Commonwealth fiction and ensure that work of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin. . ." The prize is awarded for overall best book and best debut book, and for best book and best debut book in four regions of the Commonwealth of Nations. The winner of the overall best book prize receives £10,000 and the overall best debut book receives £5,000. 

The most recent winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best debut book of fiction is featured below along with a list of all previous winners of the prize. We also provide links to the winners of the other commonwealth prizes and to our index of all book awards featured on Happy Dead Trees.

The latest winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Debut Book of Fiction

2009 - A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan)      [2010 winner will be announced Spring 2010]

All past winners of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Debut Book of Fiction

1989 - Women of Influence by Bonnie Burnard

1990 - Visitors by John Cranna

1991 - Shape-Shifter by Pauline Melville

1992 - Divina Trace by Robert Antoni

1993 - The Thousand Faces of Night by Gita Hariharan

1994 - The Case of Emily V by Keith Oatley

1995 - Seasonal Adjustments by Adib Khan

1996 - Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra

1997 - Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald

1998 - Angel Falls by Tim Wynveen

1999 - The Electrical Field by Kerri Sakamoto

2000 - Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain by Jeffrey Moore

2001 - White Teetch by Zadie Smith

2002 - Ama, A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade by Manu Herbstein

2003 - Haweswater by Sarah Hall

2004 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

2005 - Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2006 - Suspended Sentences: Fictions of Atonement by Mark McWatt

2007 - Vandal Love by D. Y. Bechard

2008 - A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam

2009 - A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan)

2010 - Will be announced Spring 2010

The Africa Regional Winners of the Commonwealth Writers' Prizes for Fiction > > >

The Official Website of the Commonwealth Writers' Prizes

(Visit our Book Awards Index for a complete list of the dozens of book awards listed on Happy Dead Trees.)