Indian writer Hema S Raman was on Monday declared as the Asian Regional winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Competition 2007. Hema, who writes flash fiction and short stories, will receive 500 pounds as prize money.

Meanwhile, Zambia's Ellen Banda-Aaku was the overall winner of the competition. Ellen will get 2,000 pounds for her story Sozi's Box, which was selected as the best story from the Africa region of the Commonwealth as well as the winning piece of fiction from more than 2,000 entries.

Sozi's Box examines the themes of loss and disability as seen through the eyes of a child at her brother's funeral.

The annual competition, constituted by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, is meant to increase understanding between the appreciation of different Commonwealth cultures, to showcase the rich diversity of the Commonwealth and to support rising literary talents.

Besides Hema, the three other regional winners were Catherine Palmer from New Zealand [Images], Sarah Totton from Canada [Images] and Emily Pedder from the United Kingdom.

From the Asian region, highly commended works included Underneath the Sky by Rayika Choudri, A good Night's Work by Ashwini Gowariker, A Win-Win Game by Aniruddha Sen and Arranged Marriage by Manasi Subramaniam.

The winner of the event, Ellen said, "Winning the competition means a lot to me. I am honoured and at the same time humbled that my story has been selected as the overall winning entry for the 2007 Commonwealth Short Story competition."

"I hope my win inspires other African writers to enter the competition. I'm encouraged to write more about human behaviour and culture. By doing so, I hope to heighten our conscience and raise questions about how we deal with the experiences and challenges life throws our way," the Zambian writer said.