La.Lit magazine is happy to announce the seventh edition of Writing Nepal: A Short Story Contest in partnership with writer Samrat Upadhyay and Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. The contest was established in 2013 to encourage new writing in English from Nepal. It is open to Nepali citizens and the Nepali diaspora. The deadline for submissions to this year’s contest is October 31, 2025. Samrat Upadhyay will be the sole judge of the contest. A shortlist will be announced in November and the award ceremony will be held in December, 2025, in Kathmandu. All submissions will be considered for publication in La.Lit, and the top three entries will be published on La.Lit online. The top three winners will also receive cash prizes sponsored by Samrat Upadhyay and Indiana University.
Submission guidelines:
- Only one submission per participant is allowed.
- Submissions must be previously unpublished.
- Submissions should be between 2,000 to 5,000 words.
- All submissions should be typed and double-spaced in an .rtf, .doc, .docx, or .odt file format.
- Your name must not appear in the file with the submission, as all submissions will be judged blind.
- Include a separate cover sheet file with your name, contact information (email and phone number) and submission title.
- Participation is limited to writers of Nepali origin.
- All previous Writing Nepal participants, with the exception of the 1st place winners, are eligible for the 2025 contest.
- A shortlist will be announced in November and the award ceremony will be held in December, 2025.
- Participants will be considered for publication in La.Lit.
- All submissions should be sent to editor@lalitmag.com.
Submission Deadline:
October 31, 2025
Prizes:
- First Prize: Rs. 30,000
- Second Prize: Rs. 25,000
- Third Prize: Rs. 20,000
Submit to:
More details:
La.Lit (www.lalitmag.com) is a literary magazine that celebrates the beauty of writing. It features original and translated fiction, non-fiction, and poetry; photography and graphic art; and exclusive interviews and news from the world of literature. We aim to bring contemporary achievements in world literature to Nepal and, equally, take Nepali and South Asian literature to the world.
Samrat Upadhyay (www.samratupadhyay.com) is a Distinguished Professor of English and the Martha C. Kraft Professor of Humanities at Indiana University, where he teaches creative writing. His debut short story collection Arresting God in Kathmandu was the winner of the 2001 Whiting Writers’ Award. His second short story collection, The Royal Ghosts, won the 2007 Asian American Literary Award. His first novel, The Guru of Love, was a New York Times Notable Book while his second novel, Buddha’s Orphans, was longlisted for the 2012 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. His story collection, Mad Country, was called “brilliant, daring, and memorable” by the New York Times Sunday Book Review. His latest novel, Darkmotherland, is a dystopian novel set in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquakes.
