THE winner of the 21st Commonwealth Writers’ Prize will be announced in Jamaica on May 27 at the Calabash International Literary Festival. The festival will be held in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth from Friday, May 25 to Sunday, May 27.

An annual award of the Commonwealth Foundation, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize has become an increasingly valued and sought-after award for fiction.

It rewards the best Commonwealth fiction written in English, by both established and new writers, and takes their works to a global audience.

The overall winners are selected from more than 300 entries, and the author of the overall Best Book is awarded a prize of £10,000.

There is also an award of £5,000 for the author of the overall Best First Book, and other prizes for regional winners.

Last year, Jamaican author Marlon James was short-listed for the Best First Book award, while British-Jamaican author Zadie Smith has won the Best Book category for the Eurasia region.

Mark Collins, director of the Commonwealth Foundation, said the foundation was “delighted” to be taking part in the renowned Calabash Festival.

“It promises to be a vibrant and exciting experience for the winning writers and judges. This partnership emphasises the Foundation’s commitment to promoting high quality world literature to a global audience and we aim to deliver that in many exciting ways,” Collins said.

The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize is now in its 21st year and is held in association with the Macquarie Foundation, which is the 2007 supporter of the Europe and South Asia, and South East Asia and the South Pacific regions.

The 2007 regional shortlists are to be announced on February 6 and the regional winners will be announced on March 12. This will be the second time the winner will be announced in Jamaica, with the first time being in 1998.

The Calabash International Literary Festival was founded in 2001 by novelist Colin Channer with the support of poet Kwame Dawes and producer Justine Henzell.