Poet and fiction writer Kavita Jindal has won this year’s  Haruki Murakami short story competition. Organised by Foyles, and judged by Haruki Murakami’s publisher, Liz Foley of Harvill Secker. Haruki picked a line from his latest work, 1Q84 and writers were invited to write a short story of no more than 1500 words with the opening line “Carrying a single bag, the young man is travelling alone at his whim with no particular destination in mind.”
Kavita Jindal’s entry was picked as the winner. You can read it here.
 

A River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh is just one of the titles shortlisted
An unprecedented seven novels have been shortlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize, Chair Judge Razia Iqbal announced today.
Speaking at a press conference at Man Group offices in London, Ms. Iqbal revealed that because of the strength of contemporary fiction coming out of Asia, the decision had been made to increase the number of writers on the shortlist from the usual five to seven.
The shortlisted titles are as follows:
· JAMIL AHMAD, Pakistan – The Wandering Falcon …

“a gripping, enlightening read”

Mohammed Hanif is just one of the novelists taking part in the festival
January 20-24, 2012 at Diggi Palace, Jaipur 

 The most fabulous literary love-fest on the planet the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, is all set to enthrall literary enthusiasts again from January 20-24, 2012. The annual festival will be held at the heritage property Diggi Palace in Jaipur and promises to live up to its claim of being a celebration of National and International writing ,and encompassing a wide range of activities including debates, discussions, readings, music and workshops.

The festival will …

The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed and  The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee have both made the shortlist for the 2011 Guardian First Book Award.
The award which recognises the finest new authors who have had their first book published in English in the last year. A winner will be now be selected by a judging panel that includes author and screenwriter David Nicholls.
Commenting on the shortlist, Nicholls said: “It’s hard to imagine a more diverse range of writing than those on the Guardian First Book Award shortlist this …

The Muslim Writers Awards was celebrated in an evening of glitz and glamour at the Shakespeare’s Globe in London (November 22, 2011).
Guests included notable authors Aamer Hussein, Roopa Farooki, Irfan Master and Shelina Janmohamed amongst wider literary and publishing industry figures.
Shahriar Mandanipour won the published novel category for Censoring an Iranian Love Story whilst Far From Home by Na’ima B Robert triumphed in the Children’s book category. Zkthepoet and Ahmed Masoud were declared as winners in the unpublished poetry and novel categories respectively. But despite the big names in the …

The first phase of the Arts Council’s Grassroutes: Contemporary Leicestershire Writing has now ended with the launch of the Grassroutes e-catalogue.
The e-catalogue is an open access database of transcultural writing in Leicestershire with information about titles, authors, genre, year and place of publication. You can browse the entries or search for a particular author or title. If you know of any relevant titles that ought to be added, please contact Corinne at csf11@le.ac.uk. You can also send her your feedback or comments about the catalogue.
Grassroutes promotes public knowledge and engagement …

The 2nd annual DSC Prize for South Asian Literature shortlist was announced at a prestigious gala event at London’s Globe Theatre, October 24.
Guests were treated to a performance by award-winning producer and Tabla player Talvin Singh, alongside Sarod maestro Soumik Datta, while the winner of the first DSC Prize, Pakistani writer H.M. Naqvi gave a reading from his winning novel Home Boy.
The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature has a prize value of $50,000 for the best writing about the South Asian region.
The shortlist of 6 books for the DSC Prize for …

Imran Khan, former cricketer turned politician, kicked off his book tour in Leicester last month (September 17, 2011).
Imran Khan’s Pakistan: A Personal History takes a closer look at the country’s history and its politics. Khan said he wrote the book to tell the world about the two things he knows and loves, Pakistan and Islam.
“I felt that people knew nothing about Pakistan but that it is considered to be one of the most dangerous places on Earth.” He also wanted to challenge the misconceptions of Islam, after 9/11 the world …

by Yagnya Valkya Misra
 

Rahul Bhattacharya at Edinburgh International Book Festival
 
Edinburgh is the place to be in August. Buzzing with festivity, the city becomes a cultural paradise playing host to numerous excellent festivals and events. Yet, among all these fests rocking the city, it’s the International Book Festival that turns out to more inspirational.
As soon as you step onto the wooden floorboards of the foyer, the spirit of the festival immediately grips you, ushering you into the tented locale of Charlotte Square Gardens, where it’s sited, and where the air seems …