Deodar Prize 2025

The Deodar Prize is an effort to recognise new themes and voices in literary fiction in India. This year, the Deodar 2025 prize is dedicated to the “short story” — a format that goes back 5000 years. The Epic of Gilgamesh — the oldest recorded short story — reveals the emerging consciousness of humankind, as it was stepping out of the Neolithic era. But as a larger example, it shows us how stories best capture, and fossilise, the cultural imagination of any time.

The author of the winning entry will be announced at the Bangalore Literature Festival 2025, receive a cash reward of Rs. 1 Lakh, and an offer to have their story featured in The Bombay Literary Magazine. The two runners up will be awarded the Promising Writer award, with the authors receiving feedback on their entries, a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 each and an offer for publication in Hammock Magazine. All persons, above the age of 18, and holding Indian citizenship are eligible to submit. As this is a platform for emerging writers, authors who have previously published a novel(s) are encouraged not to apply.

The word limit for entries is 2500 words, and they must short fiction stories written in English.

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Enquiries about submissions should be directed to the Deodar Prize. Please always refer to their website for complete details and information. 

Please note, this call is run by the Deodar Prize, not the Commonwealth Foundation.