Who is Sharon Aruparayil, 25-yr-old who won Asia region Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Seven years after her first submission, the 25-year-old writer's story about women forbidden language has earned her the Asia regional prize, and a shot at the overall title.
Sharon Aruparayil won the Asia region Commonwealth Short Story Prize. (X@cwfcreatives) Sharon Aruparayil, a 25-year-old Gulf-raised Indian writer, has won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the Asia region, for her story Mehendi Nights, which is set in the chawls of Mumbai.
The prize is open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and above. Citizens of 56 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Canada and Europe, and the Pacific are eligible to participate. This year 7,806 entries were received, the second highest in the prize’s history, of which 25 writers from 14 countries shortlisted, and winners were announced from each of the aforementioned five commonwealth regions.
Aruparayil describes her work as resembling the raat ki raani plant from her grandmother’s garden, whose fragrance is undeniable once it blooms. The first time she submitted a story to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, she was 18, after seven years her efforts were rewarded as not only was she longlisted, she also won the prize. She has been previously nominated for the Deodar Prize, the PEN/Dau Prize for Emerging Writers, and the Pushcart Prize 2026. She is currently working on her debut book, also titled Mehendi Nights, expanding the story that earned her the prize.
What is Mehendi Nights about?
Her winning story, Mehendi Nights, is set in a world inspired by the chawls of Mumbai where women are forbidden language. At the centre is a girl with crooked teeth and red-stained fingers, a henna artist whose intricate designs become something far more than decoration, the secret dialect of desire that no man can erase.
The story is speculative fiction rooted in intensely real social conditions, asking what happens to expression, intimacy, and selfhood when women are stripped of voice.
Asia region judge Rifat Munim called it a compelling first-person narrative that transports readers into a world where henna painting emerges as a powerful symbol and a quiet catalyst for awakening. He praised it as a reminder that fiction is not only about portraying lives but about pushing the boundaries of storytelling itself.
The other regional winners?
The five regional winners of The Commonwealth Short Story Prize. (X@cwfcreatives)
Sharon won the Asia region. The four other 2026 regional winners are:
Africa: Lisa-Anne Julien (South Africa) for Me and Ma’am
Canada and Europe: John Edward DeMicoli (Malta) for The Bastion’s Shadow. DeMicoli is the first Maltese writer ever to win the regional prize.
Caribbean region: Jamir Nazir (Trinidad and Tobago) for The Serpent in the Grove.
Pacific region: Holly Ann Miller (New Zealand) for Second Skin
All five winners have been shortlisted for the first time. The five regional champions will now go forward to a final round of judging. The overall winner will be announced at an online award ceremony on June 30, 2026. All five winning stories have been published by the literary magazine, Granta.
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