2010 winners
Following a week of intense judging in New Delhi, India, April 2010, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize again propelled two rising stars into the literary spotlight.
This was the first major prize the two writers have won. As highly acclaimed new international authors, Rana Dasgupta and Glenda Guest joined the ranks of the biggest names in modern fiction in winning the Prize, including Louis de Bernieres, Vikram Seth and Andrea Levy.
Best Book Winner
Solo, Rana Dasgupta, UK
The judges chose Solo for its innovation, ambition, courage and effortlessly elegant prose. A remarkable novel of two halves, this is a book that takes risks and examines the places where grim reality and fantastical daydreams merge, diverge, and feed off each other. Solo, the judges concluded, is a tour de force, breathtaking in its boldness and narrative panache.
Rana Dasgupta was born in Canterbury in the UK and now lives in New Delhi. His first book, Tokyo Cancelled, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.
Best First Book Winner
Siddon Rock, Glenda Guest, Australia
The judges praised Siddon Rock for its rich cast of odd characters and blending of the everyday with fantasy. Behind every door in town lurk secret desires and wild imaginings. The novel, they concluded, deftly delves into the hauntings and disjunctions of settler Australia, and in its fable-like quality captures the laconic mannerisms of the Australian outback.
Glenda Guest grew up in Western Australia and currently lives in Australia's Blue Mountains. She teaches at Macquarie and Griffith Gold Coast universities.
2011 prize
The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2011 is for books published between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010.
The deadline for entries has now passed.
Regional winners announced: 3 March 2011
Overall winners announced: May 2011
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