Three Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan publications won the prestigious 4th UBL Literary Excellence Awards at a ceremony held in Lahore on 19 November. The Awards are an effort to recognize local talent, celebrate literary brilliance, and promote the reading culture in Pakistan. Apart from appreciating the work of established authors/poets who have contributed greatly to Urdu and English literature in Pakistan, the award also aims at encouraging and promoting emerging Pakistani writers.
Around 230 entries were received for the award this year. Out of the seven categories, OUP was nominated for five and won the award in three categories. In the Urdu Translation category, Divan-e-Mir (Farsi) ma’ Urdu Tarjuma translated by Afzal Ahmed Syed won the award. This book is the first Urdu translation of Mir’s Persian divan which has never been published in book form before. Rumana Husain’s graphic story on Pakistan’s renowned philanthropist, Akhtar Hameed Khan, bagged the Urdu Children’s Literature award. Ayesha Jalal was given the award in the category of English Non-Fiction 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 of Pakistan like Intizar Husain, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Ghazi Salahuddin, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Anwaar Ahmed, Asif Farrukhi, and Anwar Mooraj. The work of the nominees is judged on the basis of originality, creativity, literary genre and the position a writer takes in his or her work.
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