Joshi in running for Frank O’Connor award, Nepal News, Breaking News

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Joshi in running for Frank O’Connor award
May 15, 2009
source: kantipuronline

Nepali writer Sushma Joshi has been selected in the long-list for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, which has the single biggest cash prize for a short story collection, €35,000, in the world.

When she found she was nominated, she said, “I am very excited. Just to be a part of the long list which has noted writers such as (Kazuo) Ishiguro and (Chimamanda Ngozi) Adichie is a great honour, for Nepal as well as Nepali writers, as the other writers who have been short-listed are very well known.”

Joshi' short story collection, “The End of The World”, has eight different stories, all based around loss and longing. The title story itself, is a prophetic tale about the mass hysteria created by a holy man's predictions about the end of the world. She says she wanted to capture the way people react to such news, and that the story “reflected the current political scenario in the country, where every small thing spirals into a big issue.”

Joshi also said the long-list nomination was in itself a great thing, as “it brings good international exposure, especially for short story writers. Also, it is very encouraging for young writers who want to pursue a career in this profession.” However, a slight mistake has led to Joshi being nominated as a British writer.

The Frank O'Connor award is an annual award that was introduced in 2005. Its past winners include Pulitzer-prize winning Jhumpa Lahiri, noted Japanese writer Haruki Murakami and Chinese writer Yiyun Li. While the long-list has 57 di-fferent writers from around the world, including two from India - Jahnavi Barua and Jasmine Anita Yvette D'Costa - the short-list of either four or six writers will be announced in mid-July, and the winner on September 20 in Ireland. Joshi writes a weekly column, “The Global and The Local” for The Kathmandu Post.


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