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Recreation

Commonwealth Writers Prize

The Commonwealth Writers Prize, established in 1987, is sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation with the support of the Macquarie Foundation. Any work of prose fiction is eligible, i.e. a novel or collection of short stories. The work must have been written by a citizen of the Commonwealth, must be of a reasonable length and be in English. There is no restriction on setting, theme or mode.

2008

Best Book

The Book of Negroes Lawrence Hill (Canada)

Best First Book

A Golden Age Tahmima Anam (Bangladesh)

2007

Best Book

Mister Pip Lloyd Jones (New Zealand)

Best First Book

Vandal Love D.Y. Bechard (Canada)

Africa

Best Book: The Native Commissioner Shaun Johnson (South Africa)
Best First Book: All We Have Left Unsaid Maxine Case (South Africa)

Canada and the Caribbean

Best Book: The Friends of Meager Fortune David Adams Richards (Canada), Doubleday Canada
Best First Book: Vandal Love D.Y. Bechard (Canada), Doubleday

Europe and South Asia

Best Book: The Perfect Man Naeem Murr (UK), Heinemann 
Best First Book: In the Country of Men Hisham Matar (UK), Viking 

South East Asia and South Pacific

Best Book: Mister Pip Lloyd Jones (New Zealand), Penguin
Best First Book: Tuvalu Andrew O'Connor (Australia), Allen and Unwin

2006

Best Book

The Secret River Kate Grenville

Best First Book

Suspended Sentences: Fictions of Atonement Mark McWatt

2005

• Best book: Small Island Andrea Levy
• Best first book: Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2004

• Best book: A Distant Shore Caryl Phillips
• Best first book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon

2003

• Best book: The Polished hoe Austin Clarke
• Best first book: Haweswater Sarah Hall

2002

• Best book: Gould's book of fish Richard Flanagan
• Best first book: Ama, a story of the Atlantic slave trade Manu Herbstein

2001

• Best book: True History of the Kelly Gang Peter Carey
• Best first book: White teeth Zadie Smith

2000

• Best book: Disgrace J M Coetzee
• Best first book:Prisoner in a red-rose chain Jeffrey Moore

1999

• Best book: Eucalyptus Murray Bail
• Best first book: The Electrical field Kerri Sakamoto 

1998

• Best book: Jack Maggs Peter Carey 
• Best first book: Angel Falls Tim Wynveen 

1997

• Best book: Salt Earl Lovelace 
• Best first book: Fall on your knees Ann-Marie MacDonald 

1996

• Best book: A fine balance Rohinton Mistry 
• Best first book: Red earth and pouring rain Vikram Chandra 

1995

• Best book: Captain Corelli's mandolin Louis de Bernieres 
• Best first book: Seasonal adjustments Adib Khan 

1994

• Best book: A Suitable boy Vikram Seth 
• Best first book: The Case of Emily V Keith Oatley 

1993

• Best book: The Ancestor game Alex Miller 
• Best first book:The Thousand faces of night Gita Hariharan 

1992

• Best book: Such a long journey Rohinton Mistry 
• Best first book: Divina Trace Robert Antoni 

1991

• Best book: The Great world David Malouf 
• Best first book: Shape-Shifter Pauline Melville 

1990

• Best book: Solomon Gursky was here Mordecai Richler
• Best first book: Visitors John Cranna 

1989

• Best book: The Carpathians Janet Frame 
• Best first book: Women of influence Bonnie Burnard 

1988

• Heroes Festus Iyayi 

1987

• Summer lightning Olive Senior