This year’s #CWprize shortlist includes six outstanding stories from the Caribbean region, with shortlisted writers from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
Cosmata Lindie (
@cosmatalindie ), a Guyanese writer and visual artist, returns to the Prize after being shortlisted in 2024. Her 2026 story, ‘The Metamorphosis of Miss Alice’, follows a juvenile delinquent whose encounters with a frail, forgotten old woman lead him to believe in the power of transformation.
‘Plenty Time’, by Trinidadian writer Celeste Mohammed (
@celestemohammed ), centres on an act of kindness between an elderly widow and another woman in a struggle for dignity. Formerly a lawyer, Celeste is now an award-winning full-time writer, editor and ghostwriter. She was also shortlisted in 2024.
In ‘The Serpent in the Grove’, Trinidadian writer Jamir Nazir centres rural Trinidad in a story steeped in desire, poverty and dread. It explores betrayal, survival and the force of a woman’s will. Jamir has published several books and is known for his poetry.
Jason Dookeran, a Trinidadian writer based in Buenos Aires, is the author of ‘Pom Pom Peedeem Pom’, which follows a bassist’s attempt to escape his past—only to find it pursuing him across the sea as a persistent rhythm. His work draws on Trinidadian dialect, folklore, and the interplay between tradition and contemporary life.
Jochelle Greaves Siew, a Trinidadian PhD candidate, has been published in academic journals. Her story, ‘River Mouth’, is her first writing competition submission and explores the mysterious disappearance of several girls in a fishing community. She plans to complete her first women’s fiction novel after finishing her PhD.
‘Pot Hound Republic’, by Roger-Mark De Souza (
@rogermarkde ), is told from the perspective of a stray dog wandering the streets and markets of Port of Spain. Born in Trinidad and now based in Washington, D.C., his work explores diasporic life. He is currently completing a novel-in-stories tracing interconnected lives between the Caribbean and its global diaspora.
We hope you enjoy reading these stories when they are published later this year.
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