Urdu Fiction from India: An Introduction

Read more: http://wordswithoutborders.org/article/urdu-fiction-from-india-an-introduction?utm_source=Words+without+Borders+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d5e869a4e8-September_2010&utm_medium=email#ixzz0yQxhnbqt

This is a Call for Papers for an Orwell in Asia conference which will be held at Tunghai University in Taiwan in Spring 2011. 

George Orwell: Asian and Global Perspectives

 1. Conference Location: Department of Foreign Languages and Literature

                                    Tunghai University

                                    Taichung 40704, Taiwan

 2. Date: May 21, 2011

 3. Conference Theme: George Orwell: Asian and Global Perspectives

In  The Public Intellectuals (2001), Richard Posner ranks Orwell 11th in a list of the 100 most-mentioned intellectuals of the 20th cent. (depending on coverage in the media, internet “hits” and citations in academic journals).  Yet, while Orwell’s status in Britain, the US, and the West generally speaking, is beyond question, his place in Asian and other non-Western cultural discourse seems less certain.  Orwell, nevertheless, is profoundly linked to and deserving of consideration in the Asian cultural context.  He was born in Bengal, served five years in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, and returned from the experience a firm anti-colonialist.  Already in his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), he reflected on the fate of Indian rickshaw pullers and gharry ponies while discussing his experiences as a dishwasher in a Paris hotel and such texts as “A Hanging,” “Shooting an Elephant,” and Burmese Days have become classics of English colonial literature.  From 1941-1943 he was employed by the Indian section of the BBC’s Eastern Service and took a keen interest throughout his life in the question of Indian independence, the future of Palestine, decolonization throughout Asia and around the world, and new English writings from Asia. 

 As 2010 is an Orwell commemorative year, it presents a good opportunity to further Orwell scholarship in an Asian as well as global context.  From raucous democracies to hermit kingdoms, contemporary Asia features varied societal and political models and George Orwell’s writings consequently have been received very differently from country to country.  In Myanmar, the former Burma, e.g., Burmese Days (1934) is hailed as a first-class anti-colonial document, but Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty-four, and the rest of his work are banned.  Yet, elsewhere his work is freely available both in English and in translation (e.g. in Taiwan) and George Orwell, by the Japanese academic Yasuhara Okuyama (Tokyo, 1983), made a significant contribution to Orwell scholarship and included original interviews with Orwell contemporaries.    

The university invites papers exploring the following topics, but also welcome presentations dealing with other aspects of Orwell scholarship:

The reception history of Orwell in Asian countries

Translation, adaptation, and refraction of Orwell in Asia

Orwell’s “decency” and Asian values

Orwell’s views of war, colonialism, and totalitarianism

Orwell on patriotism vs. nationalism

Orwell and India

Orwell as Orientalist: Images of Asia (Burma, India, China, Japan, etc) in Orwell

Orwell on Language: “Politics and the English/Chinese/Japanese/etc. Language”

The telescreen and the evolution of the mass media, the Internet and surveillance technology

Orwell as public intellectual and Asian public intellectuals

The teaching of Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty-four and other Orwell texts in the English Literature classroom in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, etc.

4. Conference/Paper Language: All papers are required to be written and presented in English.

5. Guidelines for Abstract Submission:

 -The length of the abstract should be maximum 350 words.

-Abstracts should be typed in fonts of size 12 and spacing of 1.5 and saved in MS Word format.

-Do not include your name or other identifying information in your abstract; there will be a blind review of the submissions.             

-Send the abstract by e-mail to hvynck@thu.edu.tw

-Please use “Abstract for George Orwell: Asian and Global Perspectives¨ as the subject of your email message.

-Include information regarding academic affiliation of presenter(s) in email.

 6. Important Dates:

 Due date for abstract submission:  Dec. 15, 2010

Notification of abstract acceptance:  Jan. 15, 2011

Due date for full paper submission: May 9, 2011

Deadline for registration: May 16, 2011

 7. Contact Information:

 Phone Number: 04-2359 0121 Ext. 31200 Sherry Jan (Assistant)

Fax: 04-23594002

E-mail: sj1109@thu.edu.tw (Assistant Sherry Jan) or hvynck@thu.edu.tw (Dr. Henk Vynckier, Chair)

In celebration of this year’s Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, the festival folk have lunched an online Flash Fiction competition, Flash! Today marks the start of “Kilat!- The Flash Fiction Challenge.” If you can write a story to knock their socks off in 350 words, please enter, or vote for the entries on the site.

The competition is open to anyone, of any age, in any country. To enter, see this website http://flashfiction.ubudwritersfestival.com/about/. The top 2 winners also receive Passes to the Festival. Of course, you’ve got to get yourself to Bali to claim your trophy!ies are accepted in Bahasa Indonesian or in English. Follow to link below to participate. Votes from the public help decide the winners!

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival approaches its seventh festival, themed Bhinneka Tunggal Ika : Harmony in Diversity.

A list of more than 100 writers represent a dynamic, diverse line-up of some of the world’s brightest minds who will speak over four days. Literary lunches, a poetry slam, workshops and cocktail parties will take place as well as a night of jazz with readings and hip-hop featuring some of the island’s coolest musicians and performance poetry. Play-readings under the stars will be featured and a street party in one of Ubud’s quaintest laneways will be more exciting than ever.

29 countries will be represented this year: Australia, Bosnia, Burma, Canada, China, Croatia, Djibouti, East Timor, France, Germany, Holland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

For more information and travel packages see http://ubudwritersfestival.com/packages-2/

The 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize is now open for submission until August 31, 2010.

The judges this year will be Monica Ali, Homi Bhabha and Hsu-Ming Teo.

The Man Asian Literary Prize today announced a new format, opening it to all novels by Asian writers published in English each year. The cash value of the prize increases to USD 30,000.

The Man Asian Literary Prize will now be awarded to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year.  In the past, the prize awarded USD 10,000 to the best Asian novel not yet published in English.  With this new format, the prize will be the first of its kind to recognise the best English works each year by Asian authors and aims to significantly raise international awareness and appreciation of Asian literature.   

Announcing the changes, the chairman of the board of the Asian Literary Prize, Professor David Parker of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: “For the past three years, the Man Asian Literary Prize has been very successful at opening a new window for the world onto Asian writing that had yet to appear in English.  

“ However, it can be a long time before winning novels are published and enjoyed by the reading public, a good example being the 2008 winner, the brilliant novel Ilustrado written by the Filipino, Miguel Syjuco, which has only recently been published.”

“The new format of the Man Asian Literary Prize will allow the literary community, media and general public to be fully involved in reading, discussing and comparing the books which the judges are considering, and will consolidate its position as the world’s leading prize for pan-Asian literature published in English.”

Under the new rules, publishers will be responsible for entries and will be entitled to each submit two novels by August 31 each year.  Entry forms are now available on the prize website.

For the 2010 prize, judges will select a long list of 10-15 novels in December 2010, which will be pared down to a short list of about five or six in February 2011.  The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Hong Kong in March 2011. 

The Man Asian Literary Prize covers 27 countries and special administrative regions stretching from Afghanistan to Japan. Details of the new rules and more information on the prize can be found at www.manasianliteraryprize.org/how-to-enter/. 

The Man Asian Literary Prize is sponsored by Man Group plc.  Man also sponsors the Man Booker Prize, which since 2002 the Booker Prize Foundation has been responsible for awarding.

The Man Asian Literary Prize website has been recently revamped and the direct link is now www.manasianliteraryprize.org .

 The Lontar Foundation, established in 1987 for the purpose of promoting Indonesia through the translation of Indonesian literature, will, during the course of this year release a minimum of 10 books in its new Modern Library of Indonesia book series.

Lontar’s mission is unlike that of commercial publishers which, for commercial reasons, attempt to obtain rights to (and control of) the hottest new books on the market. In the field of literature what is hot today might be lukewarm or even cold tomorrow. For that reason, in its selection of texts for publication, Lontar tends to focus on the long-term, choosing texts which have proven historical significance. This does not mean that Lontar eschews publishing new or popular works. Not at all; it simply means that for Lontar to achieve its goal of having Indonesian literature taught through the medium of English in schools throughout the world, which the Foundation sees as a major step towards popularizing Indonesian literature abroad, it must concentrate on bringing into translation works that Indonesians themselves consider to have (or are likely to have) a lasting presence in the field of Indonesian literature.

The first ten books in the Modern Library Series include the following:

No. Author                          English Title                                    Original Title

1.       Abdoel Moeis                 Never the Twain                                 Salah Asuhan

2.       Armijn Pane                   Shackles                                          Belenggu

3.       Dee (Dewi Lestari)          Supernova                                         Supernova

4.       Hanna Rambe                Mirah of Banda                                  Mirah dari Banda

5.       Ismail Marahimin            And the War is Over                           Dan Perang pun Usai

6.       Iwan Simatupang            The Pilgrim                                        Ziarah

7.       Lily Yulianti Farid            Family Room: Collected Short Stories (Collected stories)

8.       Mara Rusli                     Sitti Nurbaya                                     Sitti Nurbaya

9.       S. Rukiah                      The Fall and the Heart                        Kejatuhan dan Hati

10.   Umar Kayam                  Home for the Holidays                        (Collected stories)

Director of PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature and Public Programs
at PEN American Center

 PEN American Center, an association of writers and others in the literary community dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and the advancement of literature through an international literary fellowship, seeks a director for its festival of international literature and year-round public programming.  The Director of the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature and Public Programs will report to the Executive Director of PEN and must be experienced in the artistic and managerial leadership of large-scale literary programs.

Founded in 1921, PEN is the world’s oldest human rights and literary organization.  PEN American Center was founded in1922 and is the largest of the 144 chapters in 102 countries that make up International PEN.  PEN American Center’s 3,400 members carry on a tradition exemplified by past members such as James Baldwin, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Norman Mailer, Arthur Miller, Grace Paley, Susan Sontag, and John Steinbeck.

PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature –The annual week-long PEN World Voices Festival has just completed its sixth successful year.  Together with the related year-round public programs, the Festival serves to embody PEN’s mission by demonstrating the power of literature to bridge cultural divisions and promote a more enlightened world view.

PEN World Voices has become one of the premier international writers’ festivals and remains this country’s only major international literary festival. The 2010 gathering (April 27-May 2) drew more than 150 writers from 40 countries for 60 events, lectures, tributes, readings, and conversations in 20 of New York City’s leading venues, together with satellite events held across the U.S.  The Festival typically attracts live audiences of 15,000 and hundreds of thousands more via program videos and audio files on the Internet.

The Festival is supported by an extensive array of public, private, institutional, and individual sponsors, including major New York City cultural organizations; the consular and other representatives of foreign governments; foundations; corporations; publishers; literary periodicals and magazines; universities; and federal and state arts agencies.

PEN Public Programs – PEN also hosts several public literary and topical programs linked to PEN’s mission throughout each year. Recent events include:  Secularism, Islam, and Democracy— Muslims in Europe and the West, co-sponsored by the ACLU and the American Association of University Professors and featuring writer and now Oxford Univeristy professor Tariq Ramadan in his first public appearance in the United States since he was barred from entering the country in 2004; and Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from the “War on Terror,” featuring writers and artists such as Don DeLillo, Paul Auster, Ishmael Beah, Eve Ensler, and Art Spiegelman; First Amendment lawyers; a former military interrogator; and a former CIA agent reading from texts and presenting video testimony that brought to light the treatment of detainees during the Bush administration.

Scope and Responsibilities – The Director of the World Voices Festival and Public Programs will provide the artistic vision and content of the programming in collaboration with Festival Chair Salman Rushdie and the Festival Advisory Committee, composed of some of the City’s leading professionals in the literary community.  The Director will have budgetary responsibility for the Festival and Public Programs and will conduct fundraising and oversee marketing and public relations activities. The Director will supervise the Manager of the Festival and Public Programs, along with contractors involved in marketing, production, and other aspects of the Festival.  The Director will work closely with the other PEN Directors who oversee Development; Finance & Administration; Membership; Freedom to Write (human rights and freedom of expression programming), Readers & Writers (educational programming for New York City high school students from under-resourced schools), and Prison Writing (writing instruction and annual Prison Writing Awards for men and women in prison), and with the Editor of the PEN Website.

An outline of the Director’s responsibilities follows:

1.      Development of Program – Working with PEN staff and key stakeholders, the Director will:  

• Formulate the shape of the Festival and Public Programs, weaving in themes from PEN’s programming, including Freedom to Write, Readers & Writers, and Prison Writing;
• Research, identify, and secure writers for the Festival and Public Programs, in consultation with publishers, cultural agencies, agents, and the writers themselves;
• Conceive the intellectual content and format for all Festival and Public Programs, either curating individual events or finding appropriate curators;
• Secure suitable venues for Festival and Public Program events and negotiate contracts;
• Manage the content, design, production, and printing of the Festival program guide;
• Coordinate with the Website Editor to create a robust Festival website;
• Oversee all details of Festival production and event management and planning.

 2.      Network Building, Fundraising and Budgeting – Working with organizational leadership and PEN’s staff, the Director will:

•  
  • Draw up and adhere to the Festival and Public Programs budgets under the oversight of PEN’s Finance Director and Executive Director, ensuring that all costs (including travel, lodging, production, venues, catering, PR/marketing, printing, etc.) are appropriately projected and managed;

• Raise general support funds for the Festival and maintain and expand the network of donors in partnership with the Director of Development while meeting budget targets; help provide post-event reporting to funders; develop strategies to raise ticket revenue;
• Establish specific, documented agreements with donors for sponsorship of particular authors and programs at the Festival;
• Work with sponsors and partners of Public Programs to secure funding and in-kind support.

 3.      Marketing & Public Relations – Together with the Festival Chair, the Executive Director, and staff, the Festival Director will cultivate and build upon existing partnerships with the media and have a central role in media relations for the Festival and public programs. Specifically, the Festival Director will supervise any contracted media and marketing consultants and be responsible for developing the message of the Festival, including describing the aims, content, and participants, and highlighting the connection between the Festival and PEN’s overall mission. The Director will also serve as a liaison to artistic, cultural, and educational institutions involved with the Festival, in addition to the publishing community, and will engage neighborhood, ethnic, and community groups to cultivate their support and expand participation in the Festival. 

 4.      The Festival Director will also supervise any public relations services contracted for specific PEN Public Programs.

 Experience/Characteristics Required: The ideal candidate will have: 

• A strong understanding of contemporary literature and authors, including literature in translation, and connections to the publishing world;
• Substantial artistic and managerial experience in conceiving and producing public literary, artistic, or comparable public programs and events, with premium qualification attached to cultural or arts festival experience on a similar scale;
• A readiness to consolidate the strengths of past Festivals and programs, and the imagination to create new ways of achieving the organization’s goals;
• Excellent planning, budgeting and financial management skills;
• Ability to respond swiftly and under pressure in a fast-paced environment;
• Ability to write well and to speak articulately and persuasively;
• Ability to lead and motivate a team of staff and volunteers;
• Excellent skills in working with others, diplomatically and effectively.

 Contact Information: Please send your resume with a cover letter to:

 Robyn DesHotel

Director of Finance & Administration

PEN American Center

588 Broadway, Suite 303

New York, NY 10012

Tel: 212-334-1660, x102

Email: rdeshotel@pen.org

The Asia Writes Project provides a good run-down of what’s happening in the literary world for writers in and from Asia and the Pacific Rim. The Asia Writes blog is updated twice daily, 7 days/week by an energetic team that started in the Philippines and now includes writers from around the region and throughout the world.

The APWP supports this effort. We are also pleased to continue to provide news sent to us by members.