Karachi: The 5th UBL Literary Excellence Awards 2015 were held at the Beach Luxury Hotel in Karachi on Sunday, 7 February 2016. The awards were held in conjunction with the 7th Karachi Literature Festival. Celebrating the literary efforts of Pakistani writers, UBL Literary Excellence Awards were held for the fifth year running.
Over 123 entries were received as nominations for the seven categories of the awards. The books, which were written by Pakistani authors and published in Pakistan in the previous year, were shortlisted by an esteemed panel of judges which included the likes of (late) Mr. Intizar Hussain, Dr. Asghar Nadeem Syed, Dr. Asif Farrukhi, Mr. Ghazi Salahuddin, Dr. Arfa Syeda, Ms. Kishwar Naheed, Dr. Anwaar Ahmad and Dr. Framji Minwalla.
The winners from each category are:
· Urdu Fiction: Na-Tamaam by Muhammad Asim Butt
· Urdu Non-Fiction: Bazm-e-Ronaq-e-Jahan by Aslam Farrukhi
· Urdu Poetry: Dhoop Kiran by Imdad Hussaini
· Urdu Translation: Surkh Mera Naam (Urdu Translation) by Huma Anwar
· Children’s Urdu Literature: Sunehri Kahaniyan by Najma Parveen and Dragon Ki Wapsi by
Akhtar Abbas
· English Non-Fiction: The Emergence of Socialist Thought Among North Indian
Muslims by Khizar Humayun Ansari
· Children’s English Literature: A Children’s History of Balochistan by Hamida Khuhro
Mr. Wajahat Husain, President & CEO UBL, during his speech, said that UBL has a strong connection with literature and plays an active role in promoting literary activities in Pakistan. Through these awards the bank hopes to encourage future generations of Pakistan to develop a keen interest in literature and take up literary pursuits thus giving further impetus to excellence in poetry and prose in the country.