This year’s 4thWrite prize winner is a short story that examines cultural ownership from the perspective of a museum curator.
At a ceremony on 1 October in London, Piyumi Kapugeekiyana was declared the prize winner. At UNM, she graduated with a degree in International Business Management in 2009, then proceeded to do her PhD in Politics, History and International Relations (Defense Studies), which she finished in 2014.
In its ninth year, the competition, which is organised in partnership with the Guardian, is open to short stories written by unpublished authors of colour who reside in the UK and Ireland. The winner will have their tale published on the Guardian website, earn £1,000, and attend a one-day publishing course at 4th Estate.
The Original Is Not Here by Kapugeekiyana tells a tale of Charitha, a curator at a Sri Lankan Museum who faces criticism for putting on an exhibit that features a duplicate of Tārā, which is kept in the British Museum.
Caleb Femi, an author, director, photographer, and one of the judges for this year’s competition, said, “Bold and inventive, this story pushes at the edges of form and meaning while remaining deeply human.” He even added that Kapugeekiyana’s story is “a triumph”.
This year’s judging panel also included Candice Carty-Williams, who established the prize while working as a marketing executive at 4th Estate before publishing her best-selling book, Queenie.
A Guardian features writer and judge for this prize, Lucy Knight, also stated that Kapugeekiyana “clearly has a flair for short story writing, creating a narrative that is engaging, topical and well-paced”. She added, “The story takes on the hot potato topic of cancel culture with great skill, offering a nuanced and thought-provoking take.”
This year’s other shortlisted authors included Monica Davis, Linda Helen Yu, Jacqueline-Faith Ísọlá, Yasmina Floyer, and Nana Kwesi Boateng.
The 4th Estate publisher, Kishani Widyaratna, athlete Jazmin Sawyers, and Monica MacSwan, an associate agent at Aitken Alexander, joined Carty-Williams, Femi, and Knight on the panel of judges.
Widyaratna said that The Original Is Not Here is a “provocative, wry and surprisingly affecting story delivered with flair by an assured and original new voice. A real talent.”
Meanwhile, MacSwan’s praises for the story included naming it a “masterful piece of writing which contains so much in just a few short pages”. He then stated, “Well-rounded characters, jokes, heartache, a twist. It’s a story unafraid to grapple with complex subjects such as identity politics, stolen artefacts, hubris and point of view. It gives its readers no answers but encourages us to discuss its themes with nuance and handle with care.”
Yan F. Zhang won the prize last year for her story Fleeting Marrow, which is based on the actual deportation of Chinese seamen from the United Kingdom following World War II. Previous recipients of the award include Kit Fan, author of Diamond Hill; Guy Gunaratne, author of In Our Mad and Furious City; and Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour and Honey & Spice.
Posted on 16th October 2025