Let your creativity flow…. Best of luck! (Source: Thinkstock Images)
From forgetting yourself and taking on another person’s daydreams, despairs and day job… something new is born. Come, write a short story about a day in the life – of anyone but you!
The stories will be judged by Anjum Hasan, author of a collection of short stories A Day in the Life. The anthology has 14 well-crafted stories that give us a sense of the daily life of a wide cast of characters: from Quixotic nonconformists in small towns and young newly-weds trying to keep up with the times; a forlorn retiree helpless in the face of contemporary anger and a middle-class woman’s bond with her maid.
Hasan’s protagonists are, as always, inward-looking, and whimsical and vulnerable outliers. Where is their place in the new order, where have they come from and where are they going? Quietly devastating, subtly subversive and wonderfully wry, Hasan is a home-grown talent whose stories are increasingly the good address for authentic Indian fiction.
For this contest, pen your short story revolving around characters of your choice in 700-1,000 words below. The winner, chosen by Hasan, will get books worth Rs3,000 and awesome Penguin merchandise.
Last date for entry: April 10
Best of luck!