H.M. NAQVI’S genre-busting debut Homeboy won the first DSC Prize for South Asian Literature at a ceremony organised here on Saturday morning. Homeboy, published by HarperCollins, examines the life of Muslims in America in the wake of 9/11 through a rollicking narrative that “blends street slang with literary discourse, pop culture with politics.”
After the announcement of the $50,000 award, an ecstatic Naqvi said: “I am flattered, honoured and grateful. I was a destitute when I wrote this novel. I commend this initiative. It’s time South Asian writing had its own prize.”
The Karachi-based writer, who has taught creative writing at Boston University, said the prize marked the culmination of a journey that started with his manuscript being recommended to an agent in a bar.
The ceremony, anchored by Kabir Bedi, was graced by the members of the jury: Matthew Evans, Ian Jack, Amitava Kumar, Moni Mohsin and Nilanjana S. Roy. The chairperson of the jury, Nilanjana S. Roy, said that the award reopened up a world of interesting possibilities. “Most literary prizes, like Pulitzer, Whitbread and Nobel, are Western,” she said. For the jury, it was quite a task to choose one novel for the shortlist which included Amit Chaudhuri’s The Immortals, Manju Kapur’s The Immigrant, Musharraf Ali Farroqui’s The Story of A Widow, Tania James’ Atlas of Unknowns and Neel Mukherjee’s A Life Apart.
Manhad Narula, director, DSC Limited, said: “Most literary prizes are overly concerned with who the authors are and not what the author is writing about. DSC Prize aims to shift the focus a bit to the subject matter, which is first and foremost South Asian.”