Bilal Tanweer wins 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize

Lahore-based author Bilal Tanweer has won the 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for his novel The Scatter Here Is Too Great (Random House India).

In its seventh year, the prize money has been increased to Rs 2 lakhs with support from Priti Paul and the Apeejay Trust.

This year's judges were authors Amit Chaudhuri, Aatish Taseer and Mridula Koshy (2009 winner of the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize).

On behalf of the judges, Taseer said: “The Scatter Here Is Too Great is that rarest of rare things: a novel whose form is a near perfect expression of its content. Karachi’s violence, its desolation, its dirt and phantasmagoria, are not merely represented; they inspire the shape of this jolting, fragmentary, darkly kaleidoscopic novel. It is part of Bilal Tanweer’s promise that he can leave so much unsaid, that his negative spaces speak as eloquently as they do. And, in the end, the reader is left with all that he needs to know—a deep and inconsolable sense of unease.”

Tanweer, born and raised in Karachi, has published fiction, poetry and translation in various international journals. In 2011, he was selected as a Granta New Voice.

Speaking for the Shakti Bhatt Foundation, Sanjay Iyer said, "With The Scatter Here Is Too Great the Prize is now clearly established as a pan-South Asian award. Completely independent juries have awarded three of the seven Shakti Bhatt awards to English language books by non-Indian writers. Mohammed Hanif from Pakistan won in 2008, as did the late Jamil Ahmad in 2011 at the age of 78 - surely the oldest person in history to win a first book prize.

"Bilal Tanweer's book underlines the crucial importance of literature in our larger cultural landscape. The Scatter Here Is Too Great balances the universality of existential torment with the often horrifying nitty-gritty realities of its location, Karachi. The book is disturbing, but frequently hints at catharsis. We wish Bilal Tanweer well as his promising career unfolds.”

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The six books shortlisted for the 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize were:
A Bad Character by Deepti Kapoor (Hamish Hamilton Penguin India)
The Scatter Here Is Too Great by Bilal Tanweer (Random House India)
The Vanishing Act by Prawin Adhikari (Rupa)
a cool, dark place by Supriya Dravid (Random House India)
The Competent Authority by Shovon Chowdhury (Aleph)
The Smoke Is Rising by Mahesh Rao (Random House India)

The award function will take place at 7.30pm, Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, December 2, 2014.

The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize: the 2014 short list

The shortlist for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2014 has been announced. In its seventh year, the prize money has been increased to Rs 2 lakhs with support from Priti Paul and the Apeejay Trust.

The six books in contention for the trophy and cash prize are:

A Bad Character by Deepti Kapoor (Hamish Hamilton Penguin India)

The Scatter Here Is Too Great by Bilal Tanweer (Random House India)

The Vanishing Act by Prawin Adhikari (Rupa)

a cool, dark place by Supriya Dravid (Random House India)

The Competent Authority by Shovon Chowdhury (Aleph)

The Smoke Is Rising by Mahesh Rao (Random House India)

The selected books were drawn from yet another strong pool which attests to the vibrancy of the subcontinent's literary culture; three books have emerged from metropolitan India, one from a smaller Indian city, one from urban Pakistan and one from rural Nepal.

The Shakti Bhatt Prize Advisory Committee states: “A Bad Character and a cool, dark place are novels of growing up in circumstances and environments that are idiosyncratic, and often fraught with danger. The Vanishing Act and The Scatter Here Is Too Great bring political concerns and socio-economic realities to the fore while The Smoke Is Rising aims its lens at extremely local politics. The Competent Authority is a sharp satire set in an alarmingly recognisable future.

“Overall, the Shakti Bhatt Prize shortlist confirms that the evolving ethos of South Asian literature throws up many commonalities while retaining a strong sense of place.”

This year's judges are authors Amit Chaudhuri, Aatish Taseer and Mridula Koshy (2009 winner of the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize).

The winner will be announced in November 2014.

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Priti Paul, director of the Apeejay Surrendra Group and the force behind the Oxford Bookstore chain, has come aboard as a major benefactor to the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. Her financial contribution through the Apeejay Trust makes this seventh year of the award especially notable as the prize money will now be Rs 2 lakh for the winning book. While Paul has pledged her involvement for the next few years, the Foundation hopes that more individuals will come forward to boost the work of subcontinent authors.

No stranger to altruism, Paul's Apeejay Anand Children's Library in Kolkata has already won the Duke of Edinburgh Prize for Social Service.

2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize - call for entries

Entries invited for literary prize

The Shakti Bhatt Foundation is inviting entries for the 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. In its seventh year, the prize is a cash award of one lakh rupees, and a trophy.

The award covers poetry, fiction (including graphic novels), creative non-fiction (travel writing, autobiography, biography, and narrative journalism), and drama.

The deadline for publishers and individuals to send in first books (no limit to the number of entries) is July 15, 2014. Books published between June 2013 to June 2014 are eligible. The winner will be announced in November and the prize presentation will take place in Delhi, December 2014.

Authors from the subcontinent are eligible but books must be published in India.

Publications must be in English or translated into English from an Indian language.

Books that have been published elsewhere and have already won prizes are eligible, though less likely to win. Vanity press publications are ineligible.

Books (2 copies) should be sent to the following address:
The Shakti Bhatt Foundation,
011, Maangalya Residences, 6/1, Benson Cross Road, Bangalore 560046.

For further information, contact shaktibhattprize at gmail dot com