Senior Equality Researcher, Faraaz Mahomed recently won the Commonwealth Africa Regional short story award for the “The Pigeon.”

 Mohamed, who is a clinical psychologist, has described winning the award as an inspiration to invest more in fictional writing.

 Mohamed’s fiction is described by the Sowetan newspaper ‘as a carefully and patiently woven tale about love, guilt and escape.’

Other South African writers on who were shortlisted were Andrew Salomon, Cat Hellisen, and Mark Winkler.  From Nigeria, Lausdeus Chiegboka, Enyeribe Ibegwam and Oyinkan Braithwaite.

 

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize aims to provide platforms for new and emerging voices with no publishing infrastructures to share their stories with international audience.  Regional winners get about R53, 000 each.  The overall winner will receive about R106 000.

 

I have always been interested in writing but most of the writing I do at the Commission is academic.  Writing fiction is something I would like to do more of, particularly as the Commonwealth Prize has opened up numerous opportunities.

 

I have never had any fiction published before, mostly academic journal articles relating to health rights and a few travel articles written for the Sunday Times and Travelstart.

 

I would really like to write a novel, but as I am just about to start a doctoral programme, I don't know how I'm going to find the time.

 

I am the most neurotic person I know, but I usually work through it by running 10kms a day.  I hope to run a marathon one day.