Three authors have reached the final stage of the 2026 Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature, competing within a $51,000 CAD awards program that supports fiction in both Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi.
The finalists are Amber Hosseini of Sargodha, Pakistan, for Nawan Pind; Akmal Shahzad Ghumman of Islamabad, Pakistan, for Parchhawan; and Rajpreet Kaur Benipal of Khanna, India, for Kabraan Vich Ugge Phull.
They were selected from 58 eligible submissions received from India, Pakistan, Canada, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Prize supports readers across two scripts
The winner will receive $25,000 CAD, while the other two finalists will receive $10,000 CAD each. A further $6,000 CAD will support transliteration of the three recognized books between Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi.
That transliteration component is central to the prize’s cross-border role. Punjabi is widely spoken across India, Pakistan and the diaspora, but readers who use one script may not read the other fluently. Making the books available in both scripts can expand their audience without flattening their linguistic identity.
The winner will be announced on November 18 at an awards ceremony in Surrey, British Columbia. Out-of-town finalists will receive airfare and accommodation to attend events in the Vancouver area.
The three-book final places writers from both sides of Punjab on the same international literary platform while supporting practical access for Punjabi readers worldwide.
