Jamaican author McPherson wins Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Jamaican writer Kwame McPherson has been named the overall winner of the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for his story ‘Ocoee’.

‘Oocee’ interweaves Caribbean folklore and stories from African-American history. It takes its name from a town in Florida where, in November 1920, dozens of African-Americans were murdered in a brutal, racially aggravated attack. McPherson said he was inspired to write ‘a mishmash of African-American reality and history, and Caribbean folklore’, because he felt ‘there are so many stories in the African Diaspora experience that are not well known and can be told to open others to that experience.’

McPherson receives £5000 (A$9480).

Now in its 11th year, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize covers the Commonwealth regions of Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Pacific and the Caribbean. The 2023 prize received 6641 entries submitted from Commonwealth countries.

As previously reported, the regional winners were announced earlier in the year, with Aotearoa New Zealand author Himali McInnes winning the Pacific region prize for her story ‘Kilinochchi’.

For more information about this year’s prize, and the overall winner, see the Commonwealth Short Story Prize website.

Category: International news