The 2017 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, one of the largest prizes for South Asian literature in the world, is to be awarded at the Dhaka Literary Festival in Bangladesh in November, following a new partnership between the two organisations.
Sadaf Saaz, director and producer, Dhaka Literary Festival said: “We are truly delighted to be hosting the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, at this year’s Dhaka Lit Fest. The aim of the DSC Prize – to bring writing on South Asia to a global audience, as well as to nurture the best talent writing about South Asia – aligns with our vision at Dhaka Lit Fest of enabling voices from this region to have a reach far beyond our borders.
“The DSC Prize also seeks to promote writing in regional languages by encouraging entries in translation, an area we strongly support at Dhaka Lit Fest. We are very excited about this partnership, and look forward to having some wonderful conversations with some of the most talented writers in South Asian literature, at Dhaka Lit Fest this year.”
Established in 2011 and supported by the Indian construction and infrastructure company DSC Limited, the winner of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is announced in a different South Asian countries every year.
Surina Narula, the founder of the DSC Prize who is well-known for her charitable work in support of street children worldwide, said she was “delighted” to partner with the “prestigious” Dhaka Literary Festival this year. “Being one of the leading literary festivals in the region with its focus on South Asia we see a lot of positive synergy in this partnership,” she said.
The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature celebrates the rich and varied world of literature of the South Asian region. Authors can belong to the region through birth or be of any ethnicity but the writing should pertain to the South Asian region in terms of content and theme. It says: “The prize brings South Asian writing to a new global audience through a celebration of the achievements of South Asian writers, and aims to raise awareness of South Asian culture around the world.”
The longlist of 12 to 15 books will be revealed in New Delhi in August. A shortlist of five to six books will further be announced in London in September 2017, before the final winner is announced at a special event at the Dhaka Literary Festival on 18 November 2017.
Last year the winner of the DSC Prize 2016 was Anuradha Roy for her novel Sleeping on Jupiter.
