Life’s too short stories - Aysha Raja

The ZZ and Zohra Ahmed Foundation, a philanthropic organisation in Lahore that patronises the arts and literature, has decided to recognise rising local talent and have generously sponsored a project created by a editor and columnist Faiza S Khan. The foundation has decided to sponsor Pakistan’s first independent short-story award,

The Life’s Too Short Short-Story Prize offers the largest prize in the region for a short story, with a panel of judges consisting of some of the most prominent voices in Pakistani literature: Mohammad Hanif, Kamila Shamsie and Daniyal Mueenuddin. Each one of these authors has left an indelible mark on our literary trajectory, and each wishes to build on this foundation to ensure a life beyond fleeting literary trends.

The Life’s Too Short Short-Story Prize provides an unprecedented opportunity to aspiring Pakistani writers to kick-start their own literary career. Starting as a short story prize and an online literary journal that hopes to expand to a regional award, the Life’s Too Short winners will be those to look out for when selecting the potential best-selling novelists of the future. Contributions must be no more than 5,000 words and should be sent by June 30 by logging on to www.lifestooshort.pk