The award ceremony for Writing Nepal took place in the cosy premises of Educational Book House yesterday. Our judge, writer Samrat Upadhyay, was rendered speechless. (Well, almost, courtesy a bad case of laryngitis. But he managed to gruff his way through.) Both he and the editor of La.Lit, Rabi Thapa, expressed a kind of surprised delight at the calibre of stories received, and the difficulty in choosing winners. But here they are, finally:

1st prize (Rs 10,000): Let the Rain Come Down, by Samyak Shertok

2nd prize (Rs 5000): Pep Talk, by Muna Gurung

3rd prize (Rs 2500): Flames and Fables, by Prabhat Gautam

Honourable mentions:

Between Queens and the City, by Niranjan Kunwar

Chamomile, by Byanjana Thapa

The Presence of God, by Pranaya Rana

Dolls in a Row, by Sarahana Shrestha

Congratulations to all of you, and thanks again to all of those who submitted their stories. We’ll be publishing the shortlisted stories in the days and weeks to come, so watch this space.