Lahore-based writer Nihal Ijaz Khan has won the 2020 Salam award for ‘Imaginative Fiction‘. Nihal Ijaz Khan’s ‘The Smokecense of Pluvistan‘ took home the literary prize.
The jury loved the story for its strangeness, sadness, longing, and beauty.
1/2 We are pleased to announce the winning story for the 2020 Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction is Nihal Ijaz Khan's 'The Smokecense of Pluvistan'! Our jury found this story was filled with "strangeness and wonder." You can read it here: https://t.co/f6isgPoDkN
— The Salam Award (@TheSalamAward) September 30, 2020
This year’s jury Ellen Datlowy comprised of Aliza T. Greenblatt, and Sami Shah. ‘The Smokesense of Pluvistan’ stood out to the jury because:
“The strangeness and wonder of the setting that first drew them into the story, and the love the characters had for each other kept them reading.”
2/2 A brief description of the story: In Pluvistan, the city where it always rains, a father and daughter struggle at the end of all life to find her mother’s faith and the tree that will reunite them with her in heaven
— The Salam Award (@TheSalamAward) September 30, 2020
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The story is currently available for readers on the Salam Awards website.
Other finalists for the 2020 Salam Award include Zunaira Nadeem with ‘Into the Light‘ and Hira Awais for ‘Door One-Seventy-One‘.
Honorable mentions went to Zahra Mukhi and her book ‘Of Sweet Seas and Starlight‘, Eman Jamran for ‘Visions of Host‘, and Mehak Khan with ‘Jinns‘.
2/2 Finally, our wonderful honorable mentions: 'Of Sweet Seas and Starlight' by Zahra Mukhi, 'Visions of Host' by Eman Kamran & 'Jinns' by Mehak Khan. https://t.co/CSQMTgqZ4d
— The Salam Award (@TheSalamAward) September 30, 2020
The 2020 Salam Award reported a record number of submissions. The 150 submissions came from Pakistani writers in the United States, Canada, elsewhere in the Middle East, and of course Pakistan.
About the Salam Award
Established in 2017, The Salam Award is a short story contest in the science fiction genre. The award is designed to “promote science fiction and related genres of writing in Pakistan.”
The annual award rewards winning authors with a cash prize, and publication of the winning story on their website.
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