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Alia Ahmed is a journalist and editor formerly with The Herald magazine, who now divides her time between Toronto and Karachi. She holds an MFA from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. Previously, she worked for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in New York. Alia’s work has appeared in The Herald, Dawn and The Hudson Review, a New York based literary quarterly. She has also worked as a waitress at a friendly Toronto restaurant-- which, she believes, is quite possibly the best education in writing fiction.
WINNER
NAJMA
by
Alia Ahmed
Set against the backdrop of a frenetic, violent and tumultuous Karachi, Najma is an urban tragedy about a friendship between two women from contrasting socio-economic backgrounds: a wealthy, apathetic young woman and her older, shabby driving instructor.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
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Some excellent excellent writing. It felt very effectively rooted in place. A world with awful and off-putting textures and the protagonist's immense and occasionally horrifyingly familiar snobbery. - FK
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I love the voice of the piece, which is chilling at the start, and not interested in being likeable or relatable. The writing is really first rate. - KS
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“Najma” is unabashedly grungy and obnoxious, with just the slightest hint of humanity. I was impressed by the casual callousness with which the narrator is able to tell this urban tragedy, a rare feat for a young writer. - MWK
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An excellently unlikable narrator. It takes real skill to make one of those someone the reader wants to spend time with. - SV
Illustration by Kehkashan Khalid
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Natasha is a writer from Karachi. Her essays and reportage have appeared in publications both at home and abroad including Dawn, Al Jazeera America, and The Washington Post. Fiction always was, and remains, her first love.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
COVERS
by
Natasha Japanwala
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Repressed desire and longing are evoked by the polished yet understated writing in this story of an ambiguous relationship between two women. A swim in the sea, pregnant with possibility, turns chilling when the unexpected happens.
The subtle evocation of social markers and perhaps the most polished writing are what elevate this narrative, which plays out against expectation.
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Zehra earned an MFA in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University and now teaches English in Karachi. She previously worked at Newsline magazine and her fiction has appeared in several online journals.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
DANDELION BLOOM
by
Zehra Nabi
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Raging rows, a pernickety, controlling husband and a sympathetic neighbour are elements that are neatly observed in this story of escape from a dysfunctional marriage.
An unusually shaped narrative, lifted by well-captured observation and good writing with some nice turns of phrase ‘sometimes hungry for resolution, forgiveness came easily’
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Alizah is a medical student whose work has appeared in The News International and the Aleph Review. She writes stories to reflect her love of Pakistan.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
GROWING BABIES IN BIG HOUSES
by
Alizah Hashmi
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
A chaotic mélange of relatives who come together to live in one household is what underpins this story of deceit and betrayal. Distrust and lies, both small and large, characterize the relationships between all family members.
Some nice subtleties in this family saga. The writer keeps us guessing as to where the story is going.
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Zofishan is a humour columnist and satirist based in Karachi. Her words have been published in Dawn, Khaleej Times, The New York Times and The Express Tribune. She is currently working on her first book.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
MY HUSBAND'S MISTRESS
by
Zofishan Umair
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
A witty, absurd take on the ménage et trois with story-telling that has a real capacity to surprise. A comedic commentary on the patience and tolerance of Pakistani wives.
This is good storytelling premised on a funny idea that takes a risk. It shows real imagination in the way the author puts images together – a cow sprouts a trunk to become the elephant in the room. The witty, tongue-in-cheek commentary is interspersed with turns of phrase that provide some actual lols.
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Sarah is an academic and university lecturer based in Lahore. She is the co-founder of Tazkirah, a reading group providing intellectual space for young women. Her work reflects her love of magical realism and she is writing her first novel.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
THE WOMAN WHO LISTENED TO EVERYBODY
by
Sarah Abdullah
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Told from the viewpoint of a decidedly unreconstructed middle-aged, middle-class office “uncle”, this story of a woman who demands payment for a life spent listening to the problems and opinions of her family and friends is an intriguing premise that is neatly juxtaposed with sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace.
An intriguing premise makes this story very readable. Taking risks with form, the author takes the absurdity in an unexpected and surreal direction. Also, it provides glimpses into an urban, middle-class milieu which is not often represented in English language fiction in Pakistan.