3 novelists share $51K Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature in Surrey this fall
Published 7:00 am Sunday, September 6, 2026
Three authors from Pakistan and India are finalists for the 2026 Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature, awarded in Surrey at Northview Golf & Country Club on Nov. 18.
The competition winner will receive $25,000 while two finalists each get $10,000 — “one of the largest prize purses for fiction among South Asia’s indigenous languages,” according to award organizers.
An additional $6,000 will support the transliteration of the three award-winning books into Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi, “helping them reach Punjabi readers across the world.”
The 2026 finalists, announced at Newton library Aug. 18, were selected from 58 submissions from Canada, India, Pakistan, Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. Finalists are Amber Hosseini (Pakistan, for her novel Nawan Pind, or “New Village”), Akmal Shazad Ghuman (Pakistan, for his Parchhawan, or “Shadow”) and Rajpreet Kaur Benipal (India, for her Qabran Vich Ugge Phull, or “Flowers Growing in a Graveyard”).
The Dhahan Prize was founded in Vancouver in 2013.
“For 14 years, we’ve been celebrating the writers who are shaping the future of Punjabi literature,” said Barj S. Dhahan, founder and primary funder of the award via Canada India Education Society (CIES), and business owner in Surrey.
“These finalists represent the creativity and diversity of Punjabi fiction as it evolves in our time. Their stories demonstrate the strength of a literary tradition that continues to connect readers across the world.”
Photos of Dhahan Prize events are shown on dhahanprize.com.