LAHORE:
Three Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan publications were given the prestigious 4th UBL Literary Excellence Awards at a ceremony held on November 19. According to a press release issued by the OUP, around 230 entries were received for the award this year. Of the seven categories, the OUP was nominated for five and won the award in three categories.
In the Urdu Translation category, Divan-i-Mir (Farsi) ma’ Urdu Tarjuma, translated by Afzal Ahmed Syed, won the award.
This is the first Urdu translation of Mir’s Persian divan which has never been published in a book form. Rumana Husain’s graphic story on Pakistan’s renowned philanthropist, Akhtar Hameed Khan, bagged the Urdu Children’s Literature award. Historian Ayesha Jalal was given an award in the English Non-Fiction category for her book The Pity of Partition: Manto’s Life, Times, and Work across the India-Pakistan Divide.
The panel of jury comprised notable literary figures Intezar Husain, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Ghazi Salahuddin, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Anwaar Ahmed, Asif Farrukhi, and Anwar Mooraj. They evaluated works on originality, creativity, literary genre and the position the writer took in his or her work.
The statement says that the awards are an effort to recognise local talent, to celebrate literary brilliance, and to promote a culture of reading in Pakistan. It also aims to encourage and promoting emerging Pakistani writers.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2014.
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