Commonwealth Writers Prize

The Commonwealth Writers Prize was established in 1987. It awards £10,000 to the best book submitted, £3,000 to the best first book, and £1,000 each to the best book and best first book of an author in each of the four Commonwealth regions.

Best Books Winners:

• 2002 - Richard Flanagan, Gould's Book of Fish
• 2001 - Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
• 2000 - John Maxwell Coetzee, Disgrace
• 1999 - Murray Bail, Eucalyptus
• 1998 - Peter Carey, Jack Maggs
• 1997 - Earl Lovelace, Salt
• 1996 - Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance
• 1995 - Louis de Bernieres, Captain Corelli's Mandolin
• 1994 - Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy
• 1993 - Alex Miller, The Ancestor Game
• 1992 - Rohinton Mistry, Such a Long Journey
• 1991 - David Malouf, The Great World
• 1990 - Mordecai Richler, Solomon Gursky Was Here
• 1989 - Janet Frame, The Carpathians
• 1988 - Festus Iyayi, Heroes
• 1987 - Olive Senior, Summer Lightning

Best First Book Winners:

• 2002 - Many Herbstein. Ama, A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade
• 2001 - Zadie Smith, White Teeth
• 2000 - Jeffrey Moore, Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain
• 1999 - Kerri Sakamoto, The Electrical Field
• 1998 - Tim Wynveen, Angel Falls
• 1997 - Ann-Marie MacDonald, Fall on your Knees
• 1996 - Vikram Chandra, Red Earth, Pouring Rain
• 1995 - Adib Khan, Seasonal Adjustments
• 1994 - Keith Oatley, The Case of Emily V
• 1993 - Gita Hariharan, The Thousand Faces of Night
• 1992 - Robert Antoni, Divina Trace
• 1991 - Pauline Melville, Shape-Shifter
• 1990 - John Cranna, Visitors
• 1989 - Bonnie Burnard, Women of Influence