Goal
The main objective of the Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize is to recognize the literary production of works by Zoroastrian authors. We seek to celebrate the accomplishments of Bapsi Sidhwa with this prize and honor literary expressions that represent the rich characters, setting, laughter, and thoughtful topics found in her novels and essays.
Submissions and Deadlines
The Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize will be awarded to writers of fiction. Novels and collections of short stories will be accepted. All works should be originally in English. Submissions are accepted only from Zoroastrian authors.
The Prize will be awarded biennially. Works must be published between January 2020, and January 2022, for the 2022 award. Each submission must be accompanied by the Application Form below.
Authors must be 18 or older. Submissions must include one copy of the book. Submissions must be first editions. In addition, a digital copy is required to share with the jury for adjudication. Digital copies will only be made available to the judges adjudicating the prize. Hard copies will not be returned and will be placed in our library. Reviews and endorsement letters can accompany applications but are not required. Each submission must be the work of a single author. No co-authored books, edited books or anthologies will be accepted. Self-published books will not be eligible.
Submission of hard copy with application must be sent or delivered in a sealed package to the following address:
FIRES/ZAH
526 Woodbend Lane
Houston, Texas 77079
A digital copy should be sent to info@fires-fezana.org. Contact Aban (aban@coatingindustries.com) or Jangoo (jbmistry@gmail.com) for any questions concerning the prize. Submissions must be received no later than February 1, 2022, for the 2022 award.
Selection and Adjudication
For this category, a panel of judges will select finalists and then choose the winner. The organizers of the Prize and the judges will not be responsible for issues arising from any alleged plagiarism among the finalists and the winning work. In the case of insufficient or inadequate entries, the prize will not be assigned in that year. The decision of the finalists and winner by the managing organizations and the judges is final.
The winner will receive $2,000and a trophy.All the participants are invited to attend an award ceremony (TBA). Finalists and winner will be announced in our press release before the award ceremony. The winner is encouraged to attend or to delegate a person of their choice to accept the prize.
Background and History
The Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize has been established by the Library Committee of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston (ZAH), home of the FEZANA Information Research and Education System (FIRES). FIRES is a centralized collection of books, manuscripts, literature, magazines, and scholarly research materials in print and electronic form, primarily pertaining to Zarathushti faith, culture, and history. FIRES was established in 2010 and is housed and managed by the ZAH Library.
FIRES and ZAH are the sole managers and organizers of the Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize. The Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize honors and promotes the work of Zoroastrian writers who share the same enthusiasm to represent the worlds and people found in Sidhwa’s novels and essays. The Prize is named after the first recognized Zoroastrian writer from Pakistan of Parsi descent. Bapsi Sidhwa was born in Karachi in 1936 and has lived in Houston, Texas for many years as a Pakistani writer with an international reputation. She was considered by Faiz Ahmed Faiz as the precursor to representing Parsis in literature, stating that “Bapsi Sidhwa’s study of some archetypal characters of her community -the Parsis – deserves more than praise both as a sociological and as a literary document….Bapsi Sidhwa has opened for us all the doors and all the windows of this world’s innermost recesses.”