Daily Times

Established with a vision to celebrate and empower female voices in literature, The Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women continues to feature literary luminaries as its judges. This year’s panel consists of distinguished novelists Uzma Aslam Khan and Omar Shahid Hamid as well as eminent Publishing Director at Hutchinson Heinemann, Penguin Random House, Ailah Ahmed.

In 2025 the call for submissions is for SHORT FICTION and writers are invited to submit short stories on any subject or theme that uses Pakistan as a canvas or location and focuses on the country’s culture and society. Entries open on April 1st and close on June 30th. The Competition is open to all women of Pakistani nationality or Pakistani heritage over the age of 18 and, as always, the judges look for writing with a distinct voice. The competition serves as a beacon of encouragement for Pakistani women writers both at home and in the diaspora and carries a cash award of Rs.100,000 (one lakh). This year there is a slimmed down panel of just three judges:

Uzma Aslam Khan is the prize-winning author of five novels published worldwide. Her most recent book The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali was included in The New York Times’ list for Best Historical Fiction 2022 as well as in their list of Books for Summer 2022. It won several literary awards including the Massachusetts Book Award 2023. Uzma’s previous novels include the highly acclaimed Trespassing (2003), a Commonwealth Prize nominee, The Geometry of God (2009), a Kirkus Reviews’ Best Book, and Thinner Than Skin (2012), nominated for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2012 and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2014.

Ailah Ahmed is Publishing Director at Hutchinson Heinemann, Penguin Random House UK where she publishes literary fiction by authors like Chigozie Obioma and Lauren Goff who have been shortlisted for major prizes and have hit the Sunday Times bestsellers list. Forthcoming publications include We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth, a collection of essays charting the daily lives, struggles, and dreams of young Gazans spanning a 10-year period from 2014 to 2024.

Omar Shahid Hamid is an award-winning Pakistani novelist from Karachi. Known for his gritty crime thrillers, he is the author of 6 acclaimed novels. The Prisoner (2013) proved to be a huge critical and commercial success and is being adapted for a screenplay by Netflix. Other novels include The Spinner’s Tale (2015), The Party Worker (2017), The Fix (2019), and The Election (2021).