Three novelists to share $51,000 Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature in Surrey this fall

Three authors from Pakistan and India are finalists for the 2026 Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature, which will be awarded Nov. 18 at Northview Golf & Country Club in Surrey.

The winner will receive $25,000 and the other two finalists will receive $10,000 each. Award organizers describe the purse as one of the largest for fiction written in South Asia’s Indigenous languages. A further $6,000 will support transliteration of the three award-winning books into Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi so they can reach Punjabi readers worldwide.

The finalists were announced Aug. 18 at the Newton library, following a selection process involving 58 submissions from Canada, India, Pakistan, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. They are Amber Hosseini of Pakistan for Nawan Pind, or New Village; Akmal Shazad Ghuman of Pakistan for Parchhawan, or Shadow; and Rajpreet Kaur Benipal of India for Qabran Vich Ugge Phull, or Flowers Growing in a Graveyard.

The Dhahan Prize was founded in Vancouver in 2013. Founder and primary funder Barj S. Dhahan, who supports the award through the Canada India Education Society (CIES), said the prize has celebrated writers shaping the future of Punjabi literature for 14 years. Dhahan, a Surrey business owner, said the finalists demonstrate the creativity and diversity of contemporary Punjabi fiction and the strength of a literary tradition connecting readers worldwide. Photos from Dhahan Prize events are available at dhahanprize.com.