Open Hands Initiative Announces Daily Beast-Open Hands Prize for Commentary in South Asia

22 June 2010

The Open Hands Initiative has partnered with The Daily Beast, Tina Brown’s acclaimed news and current affairs website, to launch a major new literary prize for Commentary in South Asia, developing and sharing fresh regional voices with the world and promoting cross-cultural understanding.

This unique award will honor the best new, non-fiction writers, journalists and columnists from South Asia who have made thoughtful, important, and engaging commentary on key social, cultural and political issues in the region. To be eligible, the nominated writer must be based in and writing about South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

The winner will receive a $25,000 cash prize and will be given a global platform for their writing through a year-long, bi-weekly column on The Daily Beast. In order to facilitate international exchange, the winner will also be provided with a one-month residency in the United States at the Norman Mailer Writers Colony in Massachusetts. The two finalists will also be invited to contribute commentary to The Daily Beast.

Nominations will be accepted through October 1, 2010, and will be critiqued by a panel of esteemed international writers. Eligible candidates will have made a meaningful contribution to the social or political conversation of the region within the last year, and be nominated by a peer, editor, or publisher. Finalists will be announced in December, 2010. The inaugural prize will be awarded at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January, 2011 at a dinner co-hosted by Jay and Tracy Snyder, Spas Roussev, and Tina Brown.

To submit a nomination, please email commentaryprize@thedailybeast.com.