Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2010 regional shortlists unveiled

Get ready for a full on book feast because earlier today the regional shortlists for this year’s Commonwealth Writers’ Prize were announced, and I’m ready to give you the run down. Before I do that though, I’ll give you a bit of background info:

Presented annually by the Commonwealth Foundation, the aim of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize is to recognise and award outstanding English-language fiction which has been created within the Commonwealth of Nations. From the shortlists which were announced today, The Prize committee will select a ‘best book’ and a ‘best first book’ from each of the four regions – Europe and South Asia, Canada and the Caribbean, South East Asia and Pacific, and Africa – and these eight regional winners then go on to the final phase where an overall ‘best book’ and ‘best first book’ will be announced. The eight regional finalists will be announced in Delhi, India on April 7, with the overall winners being revealed in the same place on April 12.

Of this year’s regional shortlists selection, the Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, Mark Collins, had this to say:

The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize is distinct and unique in that the books that win often have strong insight, spirit and voice about the incredible diversity, history and society of the Commonwealth. The Prize aims to reward the best of Commonwealth fiction written in English and in doing so, spots rising talent and creates new literary figures from the Commonwealth. This is the Prize to watch for tomorrow’s best-sellers.

Although I’m a fan of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize I’m always disappointed that the official shortlists are nothing but a mundane and monochromatic affair. So I’ve gone and done the same thing that I did last year, and jazzed them up a bit, with covers of all the books in contention, together with links and details of all of the publishers. Wherever possible I’ve provided links directly to each publisher’s website – both for the cover images and the listings – and as usual everything is affiliate-links free.

So following are the regional shortlists for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2010. I’ve split them into their regions, and then further split them into ‘Best Book’ and ‘Best First Book’ categories. I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labour :

AFRICA

Best Book

• Trespass by Dawn Garisch. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Kwela Books.
• The Double Crown by Marié Heese. Country: South Africa. Country: Human & Rousseau.
• The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Country: Nigeria. Publisher: Fourth Estate.
• Eyo by Abidemi Sanusi. Country: Nigeria. Publisher: WordAlive Publishers.
• Tsamma Season by Rosemund Handler. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Penguin.
• Refuge by Andrew Brown. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Zebra Press.
• Kings of the Water by Mark Behr. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Penguin.

Best First Book

• I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. Country: Nigeria. Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson(?)
• The Shape of Him by Gill Schierhout. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Jonathan Cape.
• The Shadow of a Smile by Kachi Ozumba. Country Nigeria. Publisher: Alma Books.
• Come Sunday by Isla Morley. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Sceptre.
• Sleepers Wake by Alistair Morgan. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Penguin.
• Jelly Dog Days by Erica Emdon. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Penguin.
• Harmattan Rain by Ayesha Harruna Attah. Country: Ghana. Publishers: Per Ankh Books.

CARIBBEAN AND CANADA

• The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels. Country: Canada. Publisher: McClelland & Stewart.
• February by Lisa Moore. Country: Canada. Publisher: House of Anasi.
• Euphoria by Connie Gault. Country: Canada. Publisher: Coteau Books.
• Goya’s Dog by Damian Tarnopolsky. Country: Canada. Publisher: Penguin.
• Galore by Michael Crummey. Country: Canada. Publisher: Doubleday Canada.
• The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon. Country: Canada. Publisher: Random House Canada.

Best First Book

• Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell. Country: Canada. Publisher: Viking Canada.
• Daniel O’Thunder by Ian Weir. Country: Canada. Publisher: D&M Publishers.
• The Island Quintet: Five Stories by Raymond Ramchartiar. Country: Trinidad. Publisher: Peepal Tree Press.
• Diary of Interrupted Days by Dragan Todorovic. Country: Canada. Publisher: Random House Canada.
• The Briss by Michael Tregebov. Country: Canada. Publisher: New Star Books.
• Amphibian by Carla Gunn. Country: Canada. Publisher: Coach House Books.

SOUTH ASIA AND EUROPE

• Solo by Rana Dasgupta. Country: Britain. Publisher: Fourth Estate.
• For Pepper and Christ: A Novel by Keki Daruwalla. Country: India. Publisher: Penguin India.
• The Beijing of Possibilities by Jonathan Tel. Country: Britain. Publisher: Other Press.
• Heartland by Anthony Cartwright. Country: Britain. Publisher: Tindal Street Press.
• Another Gulmohar Tree by Aamer Hussein. Country: Pakistan. Publisher: Telegram.
• The Immortals by Amit Chaudhuri. Country: India. Publisher: Picador India.

Best First Book

• The Hungry Ghosts by Anne Berry. Country: Britain. Publisher: Blue Door.
• Arzee the Dwarf by Chandrahas Choudhury. Country: India. Publisher: Harper Collins India.
• In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin. Country: Pakistan. Publisher: Random House India(?)
• Among Thieves by Mez Packer. Country: Britain. Publisher: Tindal Street Press.
• An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay. Country: Britain. Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
• Tail of the Blue Bird by Nii Parkes. Country: Britain. Publisher: Jonathan Cape.

SOUTH EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

• Summertime by J.M Coetzee. Country: Australia. Publisher: Knopf Australia.
• A Good Land by Nada Awar Jarrar. Country: Australia. Publisher: Harper Collins Australia.
• The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt. Country: Samoa. Publisher: Huia Publishers.
• Singularity by Charlotte Grimshaw. Country: New Zealand. Publisher: Random House New Zealand.
• The People’s Train by Thomas Keneally. Country: Australia. Publisher: Vintage Australia.
• Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey. Country: Australia. Publisher: Penguin Australia.

Best First Book

• The Ice Age by Kirsten Reed. Country: Australia. Publisher: Penguin Australia.
• After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld. Country: Australia. Publisher: Vintage Australia.
• Look Who’s Morphing by Tom Cho. Country: Australia. Publisher: Giramondo Publishing.
• Document Z by Andrew Croome. Country: Australia. Publisher: Allen & Unwin.
• Come Inside by Glenys Osborne. Country: Australia. Publisher: Clouds of Magellan.
• Siddon Rock by Glenda Guest. Country: Australia. Publisher: Vintage Australia.