Professor Mark McWatt, Guyanese author of 'Suspended Sentence: Fictions of Atonement', which won Best First Book in last year's Commonwealth Writers' Prize. - Contributed

When the winners of the Best Book Award and Best First Book Award in the 2007 Commonwealth Writers' Prize are announced next Sunday, it will be the end of a long process.

The writers of the eight books, four in each category, still in contention for the overall prizes, are already winners in their own right. With selections done on a regional basis, each has come out on top in a designated section of the world.

Best First Book Award

Best First Book Award contenders Maxine Case (All We Have Left Unsaid) is the Africa winner, DY Bechard (Vandal Love) is best in Canada and the Caribbean, Andrew O'Connor (Tuvalu) is the South East Asia and South Pacific winner, and Hisham Matar (In The Country of Men) is Europe and South Asia's best.

Europe and South Asia's Best Book representative is Naeem Murr (The Perfect Man), Shaun Johnson (The Native Commissioner) is from Africa, David Adams Richards (The Friends of Meager Fortune) represents Canada and the Caribbean, and Lloyd Jones (Mister Pip) carries the hopes of South East Asia and South Pacific.

There are three judges from each region, with Ugandan Professor Arthur Gakawandi being the Africa panel's chairperson. Professor Aritha van Herk (Canada), Professor Angela Smith (United Kingdom) and Dr. Christine Prentice (New Zealand) are the other regional chairpersons and, along with Calabash's Colin Channer, will decide the overall winners.

The cheques of of 10,000 and 5,000 to the Best Book and Best First Book winners respectively will be handed over by Tourism, Entertainment and Culture Minister, Aloun Assamba.

Each regional winner has already collected 1,000.

Now in its 21st year, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize is sponsored and run by the Commonwealth Foundation, with support from the Macquarie Foundation. The former is based in Britain and the latter in Australia, and is a part of the Macquarie bank group.

Last year, the Best Book Prize went to Australian Kate Grenville for (The Secret River), while Mark McWatt of Guyana won Best First Book for (Suspended Sentences).

- M.C.