Sharma Taylor

Sharma Taylor is a Jamaican writer and lawyer living in Barbados. She was one of the judges for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Early life and education

Taylor has LLB and LLM degrees from the University of the West Indies, and a PhD in Copyright Law from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

Career

Taylor's first novel, What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You, was published by Virago Press in 2022. It was developed from her short story "Son Son's Birthday" which was shortlisted for the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Awards and recognition

Taylor won the 2020 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize for her "How You Make Jamaican Coconut Oil". and won the 2020 Frank Collymore Literary Endowment award for her "Hollow Calabash".

She has been shortlisted four times for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, including in 2018 for "Son Son's Birthday", in 2020 for "Cash and Carry" and in 2022 for "Have Mercy"

She was awarded a bronze Musgrave Medal in 2023.

Selected publications

Taylor, Sharma (2023). What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You. Virago. ISBN 9780349015545.
Taylor, Sharma (2022). Genuine Human Hair. Virago. ISBN 9780349017396.

References

1 2 "2020 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize Winners". wasafiri.org. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2026". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ "Dr Sharma Taylor is the Department of Literatures in English Writer-in-Residence". www.mona.uwi.edu. University of the West Indies. 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ Comerford, Ruth. "Virago bags Sharma Taylor's 'deeply moving' debut". The Bookseller. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ Evans, Zoanne (16 October 2023). "A Review of What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You". artsetcbarbados.com. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ Howard, Jacinth (November 2025). "Sharma Taylor, What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You" (PDF). Journal of West Indian Literature. 34 (1): 132. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ "Sharma Taylor in Conversation with Alexia Tolas". Commonwealth Foundation. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ "The Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Awards Winners" (PDF). Frank Collymore Hall. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2018". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2020". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2022". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
↑ Reckord, E. Hartman (4 April 2024). "Minister Grange Hails Musgrave Medal Awardees". jis.gov.jm. Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links

Sharma Taylor at BIM Magazine, including full text of stories "How to plan your funeral" and "The woman whose laugh cracked the sky"

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[wasafiri-1] 1 2 "2020 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize Winners". wasafiri.org. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[commonwealth2026-2] "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2026". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[3] "Dr Sharma Taylor is the Department of Literatures in English Writer-in-Residence". www.mona.uwi.edu. University of the West Indies. 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[comerford-4] Comerford, Ruth. "Virago bags Sharma Taylor's 'deeply moving' debut". The Bookseller. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[evans-5] Evans, Zoanne (16 October 2023). "A Review of What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You". artsetcbarbados.com. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[howard-6] Howard, Jacinth (November 2025). "Sharma Taylor, What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You" (PDF). Journal of West Indian Literature. 34 (1): 132. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[7] "Sharma Taylor in Conversation with Alexia Tolas". Commonwealth Foundation. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[8] "The Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Awards Winners" (PDF). Frank Collymore Hall. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[9] "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2018". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[10] "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2020". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[11] "Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2022". Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

[reckord-12] Reckord, E. Hartman (4 April 2024). "Minister Grange Hails Musgrave Medal Awardees". jis.gov.jm. Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 17 September 2026.