KLF book prizes’ long lists announced

161 authors to speak at festival to be held from February 9 to 11

The ninth Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) will be held on February 9, 10, and 11 2018 at the Beach Luxury Hotel, announced Oxford University Press (OUP) Managing Director Ameena Saiyid.

Saiyid is also the founder and director of the Karachi and Islamabad literature festivals and co-founder of the Children’s Literature Festival. She was speaking at a press conference on Wednesday held at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi.

KLF brings together and celebrates Pakistani and international authors writing in diverse languages. The festival will feature talks, panel discussions, readings, book launches, English and Urdu mushaira, satire, author signings, performing arts, film screenings, book fair, literary awards and a food court, said Saiyid.

Around 131 Pakistani and 30 international authors and speakers from nine countries will participate in the upcoming festival. Around 19 book launches and more than 60 sessions are planned for the festival.



Saiyid gave an overview of the four prizes instituted by the KLF in collaboration with corporate entities and foreign missions. These annual prizes are awarded to books in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, peace and Urdu. The books are assessed by panels of juries comprising Pakistani academics, critics, and writers. This year the prizes are the KLF-Pepsi Non-Fiction Prize, KLF-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize, KLF Peace Prize (Consulate General of Germany) and KLF-Infaq Foundation Urdu Literature Prize.

The KLF-Pepsi Non-Fiction Prize of Rs250,000 goes to the best non-fiction book originally written in English by a Pakistani or Pakistan-origin foreign national. The books long listed for this prize include ‘Lahore in the Time of Raj’ by Ian Talbot and Tahir Kamran, ‘How Pakistan Got Divided’ by Rao Farman Ali Khan, ‘A History of the Judiciary’ by Hamid Khan, ‘Urban Traditions and Historic Environments in Sindh’ by Anila Naeem, ‘Imagining Pakistan’ by Rasul Bakhsh Rais and ‘Honour Unmasked’ by Nafisa Shah.

The KLF-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize goes to the best fiction written originally in English. The author (a Pakistani or a Pakistani-origin foreign national) of the best novel or short story collection will be awarded Rs300,000. The long list of books announced for this prize includes ‘The Golden Legend’ by Nadeem Aslam, ‘Exit West’ by Mohsin Hamid, ‘The Party Worker’ by Omar Shahid Hamid, ‘This House of Clay and Water’ by Faiqa Mansab, ‘Daddy's Boy’ by Shandana Minhas, ‘Boy of Fire and Earth’ by Sami Shah, ‘Snuffing out the Moon’ by Osama Siddique and ‘Home Fire’ by Kamila Shamsie.



The KLF Peace Prize of €3,000 is a joint project of the Consulate General of Germany in Karachi and the KLF. It awards a fiction or non-fiction book that promotes peace, tolerance and international understanding, written by a Pakistani or a Pakistani-origin foreign national, or any foreign national residing in Pakistan. The books long listed for the Peace Prize are ‘Love in Chakiwara and Other Misadventures’ by Muhammad Khalid Akhtar, ‘Prison Narratives’ by Akhtar Baloch, ‘Indus Waters Treaty: Political and Legal Dimensions’ by Ijaz Hussain, ‘This House of Clay and Water’ by Faiqa Mansab, ‘Imagining Pakistan’ by Rasul Bakhsh Rais and ‘Islamophobia and Securitisation’ by Tania Saeed.

The KLF-Infaq Foundation Urdu Literature Prize goes to the best book in Urdu. The prize of Rs200,000 will be given to a book of prose or poetry. The long-listed books include ‘Deed wa Deed’ by Altaf Fatima, ‘Neeli Baar’ by Tahira Iqbal, ‘Rail ki Seeti’ by Muhammad Hasan Mairaaj, ‘Qila e Faramoshi’ by Fahmida Riaz, ‘Urdu Hindi Tanazi'a aur Punjabi Zabaan’ by Naveed Shahzad and ‘Aatey Hai Ghaib Sey’ by Anwar Sha'oor.

"The annual KLF is about the promotion of reading, writing and authors, and of bringing enrichment to people's minds. With participants and visitors from all over the country, this is truly an all-Pakistan event. More so, with participants from different countries around the world, it is truly an international event. As always entry to the event will be free," said KLF co-founder Asif Farrukhi.