"Omdat Paterswolde ’n dorpie onder die rook van die groot stad Groningen is, dink ek die mense hier is minder angstig, want baie mense ken mekaar en die dinamika in ’n dorp met 11 000 siele is ’n bietjie kalmer as in ’n stad van 200 000 inwoners." 

"I want to be in a position to help writers from other underrepresented groups. Most of the chances I received were primarily from more established writers taking me under their wing." ML Kejera’s short story has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

"This story is my attempt to humanise the devotion of the men and women who hold down the fort in our homes while we chase our dreams." Aba Asibon’s short story has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. 

"I write so that my characters’ stories can get out there into the world, and so readers can find in the stories something that connects with them and which maybe makes them rethink things in their own life and ultimately have more empathy and compassion for themselves and others." Sharma Taylor’s short story has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

"Zo is Podium Aan Huis geboren, als een tijdelijk platform met een divers aanbod aan podiumvoorstellingen uit Vlaanderen en Brussel voor jong en oud. Cultuurconnect, digitaal steunpunt voor de cultuur- en gemeenschapscentra en initiatiefnemer van Podium Aan Huis, is meteen begonnen met zoeken naar oplossingen en manieren om opnieuw de link te leggen met het publiek dat nu noodgedwongen thuis zit. Zo kwamen we op de idee om opnames van podiumvoorstelingen te bundelen en online ter beschikking te stellen van het publiek."

"Most of the African prints sold globally and in the African markets are not designed by Africans or manufactured in Africa – even though patterns and motifs are inspirations gleaned from African sources. Also, designs from Africa have often been misinterpreted, or recognised or defined as tribal art, with their creativity reduced to a certain stylistic representation and use of colours, materials and patterns."

"The setting is inspired by trips that I would take to my grandparents’ home in rural Sabah: the jungles, the starlight, the silence. I’m also someone who feels constantly caught in a state of in-between – in between languages, and locations, primarily – and the story was a response to that." Sharmini Aphrodite’s short story has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. 

"My siening van die reëls het nie veel verander ná ek positief getoets is nie – ek was steeds hande meer as wat ek treë gee en ek behou te alle tye ’n afstand van twee meter. Ek het wel nie in Maart ’n masker in die supermark gedra nie, maar nou sal jy my nie sommer die huis sien verlaat sonder een nie."

"I think that we all understand the power of culture in this period better than ever." On Saturday 9 May, Europe Day was celebrated with an online festival, organised by the European Cultural Foundation. The website lets attendees share, experience and imagine Europe through stories, clips, films, podcasts, research, artwork, documentaries, campaigns, performances and debates. The festival content is available until 29 May.

"I’ve always found motherhood to be such a mystery. You see these women break their backs raising their children, raising their husbands, and for what? I think all of this built up to me writing this story." Innocent Chizaram Ilo’s short story has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. 

"Die Kaapse middestad voor die COVID-19-pandemie was ’n besige plek. Nou is die middestad verlate en slegs die historiese geboue (en Tafelberg) hou wag."

"My story explores the tenuous bonds between the female body, gender, and society. It describes the absurd bodily experience of being a brown woman by exploring the sexual lives of young South Asian people, the relationships young women nurture and destroy with parents and partners, and the mythical battle between modesty and objectification." Maham Javaid’s short story has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. 

"The story was very personal to me, which made it both difficult and easy to write. But I would say the most challenging part was not getting carried away with words and making it fit within the 5 000 word limit." Alboricah Tokologo Rathupetsane’s short story has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

"The think tank 'Political Economy and Autonomous Governance' (EPGA) was established to popularise political economy among decision-makers in Niger and other francophone countries in West Africa. At EPGA, we have this big ambition to team up with organisations in West Africa, such as LASDEL in Niamey (Niger), but also in Europe, such as the African Studies Centre of Leiden, where I work, to develop a research agenda covering the 'regalian state' across the Sahel."

Tenita Kidelo is tans besig met haar meestersgraad in Afrikaanse en Nederlandse letterkunde aan die Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland. Haar navorsing is ’n vergelykende studie oor swart feminisme in die werke van Suid-Afrikaanse skrywer Ronelda Kamfer en die Nederlandse digter Simone Atangana Bekono.