Cape Breton-based writer Julie Curwin has won the 2008 Commonwealth Short Story Competition for her story World Backwards.

Curwin claimed her prize of £2,000 ($3,644) in London on Thursday.

World Backwards triumphed over 1,700 entries from Commonwealth countries around the world.

It was selected as the best story from the Caribbean and Canada region of the Commonwealth before winning the overall competition.

New Brunswick-born Curwin began writing only two years ago, and is now working on a collection of short stories with medical themes.

In 2007 her story The Other Side of the Window was selected as a finalist in a short prose program from The Writer's Union of Canada.

Trained as a psychiatrist, Curwin previously had a career as a professional long-distance triathlete, and was a member of Canada's elite national team.

The short story competition is run by the Commonwealth Foundation, an intergovernmental organization that also offers a prestigious literary prize and arts residency programs.

The 2006 Commonwealth Short Story Competition was won by another Canadian, Erin Soros.