Any work of prose fiction first published in year prior to the award. Author must be a member of a Commonwealth country.

1987     Olive Senior              Summer Lightning

1988     Festus Iyayi              Heroes

1989     Janet Frame             The Carpathians

             Bonnie Burnard         Women of Influence

1990     Mordecai Richler      Solomon Gursky

             John Cranna             Visitors

1991     David Malouf            The Great World

             Pauline Melville        Shape-Shifter

1992     Rohinton Mistry       Such a Long Journey

             Robert Antoni           Divina Trace

1993     Alex Miller                The Ancestor Game

            Githa Hariharan        The Thousand Faces of the Night

1994     Vikram Seth             A Suitable Boy

             Keith Oatley             The Case of Emily V.

1995     Lois de Bernieres     Captain Corelli's Mandolin

             Adib Khan                 Seasonal Adjustments

1996     Rohinton Mistry        A Fine Balance

             Vikram Chandra       Red Earth and Pouring Rain

1997     Earl Lovelace           Salt

             Ann-Marie MacDonald  Fall on Your Knees

1998     Peter Carey              Jack Maggs

             Tim Wynveen           Angel Falls