The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature awards $25,000 annually to the best book of fiction published in either Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi scripts, along with two second prizes of $5,000 CDN.

Taking first prize is Jarnail Singh who penned Kaale Varke (Black Pages), a short story collection.

In second place are Zahid Hassan who wrote the novel Tassi Dharti (Thirsty Land) and Simran Dhaliwal, who submitted a short story collection titled Us Pal (That Moment).

“Jarnail Singh’s collection of short stories is powerful as it explores the lived experience of immigrant Punjabis in North America,” says Barj S. Dhahan, Founder of the Prize.