Category: Lit News

The Asian Review Reaches Top Ranking as Asia’s Premier Literary Magazine

The Asian Review has achieved a remarkable milestone, ascending from 13th position in 2023 to 10th in Feedspot’s global literary magazine rankings. Competing amongst 2,500 publications worldwide, this achievement reflects genuine reader engagement from 40 million monthly visitors across 195 countries, establishing the magazine as Asia’s premier literary voice.

The Asian Review Sinhala Charts New Course with International Partnerships

As The Asian Review Sinhala prepares to enter this new phase on 1st June 2025, it stands as a testament to the enduring value of literature and the importance of community-driven cultural initiatives. In choosing independence and forging international partnerships, the publication is not merely ensuring its own sustainability but is actively contributing to the enrichment of Sri Lanka’s literary landscape.

Café Europa, a Fly to Asia… 

n important challenge for Café Europa today is to build a new bridge of encounter leading to Asia. That is why I would like to initiate the program “Café Europa: A Fly To Asia” with this text. The place where the “flying literary café” will be hosted this time is “The Asian Literary Journal”.

NIGERIA’S HALIRU ALI MUSA WINS THE 2024 ALEXANDER NDERITU PRIZE FOR WORLD LITERATURE!

Haliru Ali Musa has emerged as the winner of the inaugural Alexander Nderitu Prize for World Literature. The revelation was made on 4 April 2025 via The African Griot Review, an avant-garde arts magazine edited by the founder of the prestigious new prize. Haliru’s beautifully structured and stylishly told story, The Pregnant Ghost, beat out 71 other entries.

‘The Big Book of Odia Literature is a tip of the iceberg in Odia literary canon”: Manu Dash. 

Manu Dash is a bilingual poet, editor, translator, publisher and director of the Odisha Art & Literature Festival. An author of almost thirty books, Dash joined the Anam Writers Movement—an anti-establishment movement in Odia literature—shortly before the imposition of Emergency in India in 1975. He is the founder of Dhauli Books, which won the prestigious Publishing Next Industry Award for the Best Printed Book of the Year (Indian Languages) in 2018.

A Story of the Green Gold Craving

Pulau Pulau was a matchmaking initiative created for writers by writers to find a writing partner. The aim of the project was finding a writing partner to co-write something together that goes beyond what either could create on their own. It was organised by the archipelago collective, a transnational community of writers and artists. From across the world approx. 80+ writers have participated from 30+ different countries whose are generally writes in 50+ different languages. 

The Alexander Nderitu Prize for World Literature announces the shortlist…

Themed on “Peace”, the short-story contest received a total of 72 entries from Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Kingdom of Eswatini, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Poland, Malawi, The Gambia, Sri Lanka, USA, Botswana and Tanzania. The jurors include Dr. Paula O. M. Otukile (Botswana), Camilla Bauer (Sweden), Henry Akubuiro (Nigeria), Rupasinghe D. Pramudith (Sri Lanka), and Alexander Nderitu (Kenya).

V.V. Ganeshananthan unifies three literary landscapes by winning The Asian Prize for Fiction 2023.

V. V. Ganeshananthan’s win in The Asian Prize for Fiction highlights her remarkable talent and connects her work to a vast global audience. This achievement not only celebrates her literary artistry but also unifies three different literary landscapes. Her work has garnered significant recognition, as evidenced by winning three esteemed prizes: the 2024 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction, and The Asian Prize for Fiction in 2023. This commendation speaks to the impact of her writing on readers around the world.

Indian Writer Natasha Sharma wins The Asian Prize for Short Story 2024

fter a seven-month-long evaluation process, the Jury of The Asian Prize for Short Story announced the winner on December 15, 2024. Out of over 900 submissions, three stories made it to the shortlist: Litter by Shikhandin, The Perfect Lifeby Kushboo Shah, and The White Noise Lullaby by Natasha Sharma. Among them, Indian writer Natasha Sharma won The Asian Prize for Short Story 2024 for her work, The White Noise Lullaby. 

The Most Anticipated The Asian Trio Announced 

The highlight of November was the eagerly awaited announcement of the Super Shortlist for The Asian Prize of Fiction, delivered by The Asian Committee on November 13, 2024. Out of six outstanding works of seamlessly woven prose that delve into unexplored themes and relevant social issues, three authors made it to the final list: Indian author Arefa Tehsin, Nepali-Indian author Smriti Ravindra, and American fiction writer V.V. Ganeshananthan.