Chanel Sutherland

Montreal writer Chanel Sutherland has won the 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Sutherland, who was named the winner of the regional prize for Canada and Europe last month, was named the winner of the £5,000 ($9,147 CAD) prize in an online ceremony on June 25.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually to the best piece of unpublished short fiction between 2,000 and 5,000 words. Shortlisted writers are sorted into five regional categories: Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean, and Pacific. Regional winners each receive £2,500 ($4,573 CAD). This year’s prize had submissions from 7,920 writers.

Sutherland was named the winner for her story “Descend,” which takes place on a boat transporting enslaved Africans as it sinks. The slaves, crowded in the hull, share stories of their lives and homes as the ship sinks. The jury chair Dr Vilsoni Hereniko called the work an “allegory that affirms the unrivalled power of storytelling to set our spirits free and find hope where none exists.”

Sutherland’s debut short story collection, Layaway Child, is forthcoming in 2026 from House of Anansi Press.