WINNER 2024
by
Mariah Burney
A refreshing, humorous and insightful depiction of Pakistan's struggling medical system seen through the eyes of overworked and underappreciated medical students. Although rooted in Pakistan, it has universal echoes for medical students everywhere.
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Mariah Burney is a medical student from Karachi whose lifelong dream has been to walk into a bookstore and see her name on a best selling novel. Regional winner of the USEFP writing competition 2019 and other local contests, she knows that this is only the beginning of her writing career
The Night Shift
HIGHLY COMMENDED
A Trip to Seaview
Vaneeza Sohail
An evocative and poignant meditation on Karachi, which weaves together the personal and the external to demonstrate how a city is about the relationships we have in it.
Choti Aurat
Irta Usman
A compelling yet amusing narrative about a young woman navigating the expectations and limitations imposed by the complexities of having an arranged marriage
Dupatta
Fatima Hasan
A nuanced exploration of the dupatta as both a symbol of cultural identity and a marker of societal expectations, which is at once liberating and constraining.
Softening the
Steel in My Spine
Laila Ghaffar
Well-crafted, and engaging in its experimental nature, this is a deeply reflective exploration of personal and political struggles.
Walking Daydreams
Maliha Khan
A powerful portrayal of resilience and self-discovery through the simple yet profound act of walking. It blends personal reflection with themes of gender, mobility, and independence.
LONGLISTED AUTHORS
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A Marriage of One's Own Alina Yasir Mughal
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A Generational Death Mariam Sardar
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A Turtle on Stilts Eleen Raja
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Borderlands Laiba Raja
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Enema Everyday Nighat Majid
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The Fantasy of Flight Sidrah Haque
Thank-you to all contestants who entered the competition this year. We enjoyed reading your entries. The longlisted entries will appear on our website later in the year.
ANNOUNCING THE 2024 LONGLIST
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A Generational Death
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A Marriage of One's Own
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A Trip to Sea View
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A Turtle on Stilts
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Borderlands
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Choti Aurat
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Dupatta
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Enema Everyday
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Softening the Steel in My Spine
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The Fantasy of Flight
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The Night Shift
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Walking Daydreams
Call for
Nonfiction Submissions
2024
This year the Call for Submissions is for NONFICTION writing. Narrative, polemical, historical essays, memoirs and biographies are invited. The theme or genre is at the author's discretion as long as the location and canvas is recognisably Pakistan and the focus is on the country's culture and society. Entries should be prose writing in English of no more than 3000 words in length. Please note that poetry or fiction will not be accepted.
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This year’s panel features guest judges prominent in the worlds of journalism, academia and non-fiction writing. You can view more details about them by clicking here
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