Kanya D’Almeida has been declared the overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, for a “captivating” tale set in a Sri Lankan “sanctuary for the forsaken”, thebookseller.com reported today (30)D’Almeida, from Sri Lanka, was named the winner by actress Dona Croll in an online ceremony on 30th June. D’Almeida, who won for her story “I Cleaned The—”, is the first Sri Lankan to win the overall prize and the second to win for the Asia region. “I Cleaned The—”, is a story about “dirty work”—domestic labour, abandonment, romantic encounters behind bathroom doors and human waste. Commenting on her win, she said: “Winning the Commonwealth Short Story prize during this moment of global upheaval feels like a tremendous honour and an equally tremendous responsibility. I’ve long felt that fiction is the last ‘free’ place on earth in which to fully envision (and execute!)

Source: The Nation June 30, 2021 12:45 UTC