Nigeria, May 14 -- The Commonwealth Foundation has announced the regional winners of the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, recognising five writers whose entries emerged from thousands of submissions across the Commonwealth.

The winners are Lisa-Anne Julien of South Africa (Africa region), Sharon Aruparayil of India (Asia region), John Edward DeMicoli of Malta (Canada and Europe region), Jamir Nazir of Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean region), and Holly Ann Miller of New Zealand (Pacific region).

Organisers said this year's competition received 7,806 entries from 54 countries, making it the second-highest number of submissions in the prize's history.

Notably, all five regional winners were shortlisted for the first time, while Malta r...