J’cans shortlisted for Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Jamaican writers Kwame McPherson and Demoy Lindo are among 28 individuals whose short stories have been shortlisted for the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Administered by the Commonwealth Foundation, an intergovernmental organisation, the contest is open to writers in the bloc's 56 member states with the best piece of unpublished short story fiction of 2,000 to 5,000 words coming out on top.

The 28 shortlisted writers – 10 men and 18 women – were selected from 6,642 entries. The subjects of their submissions range from illness, human trafficking and decay, to relationships and hope – as well as family secrets, growing up gay in a hostile world, generation gaps, bittersweet friendships, and navigating the world of work. They span genres from crime, historical fiction and speculative and comic fiction.

The regional winners are to be revealed on May 17, when they will receive £2,500, while the overall winner will be announced on June 27 – the day of the award ceremony – and will receive a £5,000 prize.

After two previous attempts in 2020 and 2021 to win the prize, Lindo expressed that being shortlisted this year has only proven that “persistence is key”.

In an interview with The Gleaner, he stated that his goal was to be shortlisted, so he is already pleased, having accomplished this.

He noted that even if he does not end up winning the award, to be recognised on this global platform was fulfilling enough.

“One of the best feelings about it is that it adds merit to the work I've been doing. It tells me that I'm actually going in the right direction in terms of improving my writing,” the 21-year-old said.

His shortlisted story, Road Trip and Fall, came about after listening to a disgruntled man discussed how bad the roads were in his community during a call-in segment of a radio programme.

“It was one of those things where like, in the heat of the night, this idea came to me like [at] 3 a.m. and I knew if I went to sleep, I'm going to forget it. So, I forced myself to get up and I started writing,” he recalled.

Over the coming days, Lindo would go on to make revisions to the story he had completed that night until he felt confident enough to submit it for review.

The Portland Cottage, Clarendon native, who has aims of one day writing a fiction novel, was awarded the Jamaica Young Poet Laureate Prize in 2020 and has since had his work published in a few journals, including PREE and New Voices.

“I aim to be among the prolific Caribbean writers like the Mervyn Morris, the Olive Senior, [and] Kei Miller, ... so, if there's anything I'd want anyone to know about me is that I aim to become a good writer, to be among the best when it comes to being a Jamaican writer,” he said.

Lindo, who is currently a third-year medical student at The University of the West Indies, also aspires to be a songwriter. He is hoping that anyone with knowledge in this field can help him in realising this ambition.

He said that he has come to understand the significance of continuously honing one's skills and he is encouraging more youth to explore their writing talents, which are frequently discovered in high school English language and literature classes.

“You don't have to be old to write,” he said. “If they have what it takes to write a good story in school, then, more than likely, with due diligence and discipline, they will have what it takes to become a successful writer.”

McPherson, who has a wealth of knowledge and competence in the field, wants the youth to realise that “now is the time for creativity”.

The 56-year-old, who was born in London, England, to Jamaican parents, told The Gleaner that it was more difficult to get started in the industry in the past because creatives had to prioritise finding a formal job to make ends meet.

“The time that we're living in [now], for us as creatives, we do have the ability to share our creativity more so than we did before. So, I would say to anyone, don't stop writing ... . Be inspired by what is happening, be inspired from within, and just keep writing,” he said.

This is also not the first time McPherson has submitted his work in hopes of being awarded the top prize. In fact, this is his fifth attempt, having put forward the short story titled Ocoee for this round.

“It's still kind of surreal. I'm still trying to process that I've been shortlisted out of over 6,600 people,” he said.

He stated that everything in his environment serves as inspiration; thus, he is constantly writing – a trait he had from primary school and was initially a hobby in his adult life, which later grew.

McPherson's work touches genres such as science fiction, thriller, romance, mystery, Jamaican and Caribbean folklore, and African history.

“I'm across all genres because as a writer, I love to challenge myself to do new things and to see what the results will be,” he told The Gleaner.

McPherson is a past student of the London Metropolitan University and the University of Westminster. He won the PoeticSoul in 2007 and was the first Jamaican Flash Fiction Bursary Awardee for The Bridport Prize, an international creative writing competition, in 2020.

He also contributed to Flame Tree Publishing's (UK) diverse-writing anthologies and is a contributor to The Heart of a Black Man anthology to be published in Los Angeles.

Other stories that have made the shortlist from The Caribbean are The Ovelias at Benzie Hill Dump by Alexia Tolas from The Bahamas, Teef from Teef by Deborah Lee Matthews from Trinidad and Tobago, and Where The Winds Blow by Cosmata Lindie from Guyana.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com