2024 TOTO Awards for Creative Writing in English (India)

Introduced in 2006, the awards in this category have been won by poets, short story writers and playwrights. The volume of entries has grown exponentially over the years and has explored a diversity of styles and themes – from performance poetry to science fiction. The composition of the jury for these awards includes poets, literary critics, novelists, journalists, scholars and teachers from different parts of the country.

Award Information

• To mark the twentieth year of the TOTO Awards, the cash prize for the each of the two winners has been increased to Rs 60,000. The winners will be decided by an independent panel of jurors. Soft copies of the entries should reach TFA by 20 September 2023 at the latest.

Eligibility Criteria

• These awards are meant only for Indian citizens resident in India. (Overseas Citizen of India card-holders are not eligible.) And since the spirit of the awards is to identify promising young writers, you can apply if your birthday falls between 1 January 1994 and 1 January 2006. No exceptions will be made.
• If you are submitting short stories, you must send a minimum of 2 stories. An entry with only a single short story will not be accepted. The combined word length of your submission should comprise a minimum of 3,500 words and a maximum of 7,500.
• For plays, you may submit one or more plays, but the combined word length of your entry should not exceed 10,000 words.
• You can send entries in all three categories — poetry, short stories and plays — but you must send in a separate entry for each category. For example, your poems can constitute one entry, your short stories the second entry, and plays a third.
• Those who have applied previously are eligible to apply again (unless you have won this TOTO Award) but please submit new work for consideration.

For more information, visit Toto Funds the Arts.