The 2025 Dutt Memorial Award For Literary Excellence
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” – A. A. Milne, ‘Winnie The Pooh
“How I wish, how I wish you were here. We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year; running over the same old ground, what have we found? The same old fears, wish you were here.” – Pink Floyd, ‘Wish You Were Here’
2025 Dutt Award Theme
The theme for the 2025 Dutt Award for Literary Excellence is Wish You Were Here, however you wish to interpret the words.
Submission Dates:
The contest will be open for submissions on May 1, 2025 and end on July 15, 2025.
Email submissions to: duttaward2025@gmail.com
Reviving the D.K. Dutt Memorial Award: Celebrating Literary Excellence in Malaysia
It was an amazing three years with the D.K. Dutt Memorial Award for Literary Excellence, and we are delighted to revive this Dutt Family award to elicit excellent writing from Malaysian writers. This is an award honoring the ideals of Prativa Dutt & Delip Kumar Dutt: their love for Malaysia, and their strong commitment to education and respect for the written word, as well as devotion to family and community.
We plan to announce the winners for the 2025 Dutt Award for Literary Excellence at the Georgetown Literary Festival in November 2025. If we have enough excellent stories submitted for this competition, we plan to edit and publish an anthology with Gerakbudaya (PJ). So please submit your best, PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED and edited work; we are looking forward to reading your newest work!
Rules and Regulations for Submission
The contest will open for submissions on May 1, 2025 and end on July 15, 2025 (no extensions).
- Please submit a single document of ONE previously unpublished prose submission of 1000-3000 words. Only one submission per person.
- Works can be fiction or non-fiction (a short story, a brief memoir, an essay). In English only.
- Include a cover page with title of work, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, and word count of the submission.
- The theme for the 2025 Dutt Award is WISH YOU WERE HERE; however you’d like to interpret it. All works MUST incorporate this in some way.
- The submission should be formatted in Times New Roman, Font size 12, with at least 1-inch margins on each side. Please paginate and double space your document.
- All submissions are read blind. Do not include your name; entries with personally identifiable information will be disqualified. Writers can be already published or emerging and previous writing credits are irrelevant for this contest.
Eligibility for Submission
Authors must be 18 years or older.
- Writers must be Malaysian Citizens OR Permanent Residents OR currently resident in Malaysia OR have been born in Malaysia.
- A copy of any Government issued identity document confirming Malaysian Citizenship, or Birth in Malaysia, or Malaysian Permanent Residence, or current residence in Malaysia (must have been resident in Malaysia for at least one calendar year) may be required of the finalists.
- Entries must be submitted by midnight on June 15, 2025, Malaysian time. Email submissions to: duttaward2025@gmail.com
Awards
Three cash awards will be given to recognize outstanding works written in English:
- The first prize will be RM 1500.
- Two other prizes of RM 750 each will be awarded for Honorable Mentions.
- Copyright will remain with the author.
Previous Years Winners
2015 Winner:
The Tryouts by Hanna Alkaf
Runners-Ups:
- Big Balls by Marc de Faoite
- Princess of Lumut by Saraswathy M. Manickam
- Dash by Tina Isaacs
2016 Winner:
Trail by Bathma Ioshanee
Runners-Ups:
- Appa’s Mutton Curry by Sumithra Selvaraj
- Bird by Ling Low
2017 Winner:
Charan by Saraswathy Manickam
Runners-Ups:
- Yama Takes a Drive By Sharmilla Ganesan
- Antecessor by Marc De Faoite
Champion Fellas
This collection represents the best stories entered for the D.K. Dutt Award for Literary Excellence in its inaugural year, and includes the winning piece by Hanna Alkaf, and by runners-up Marc de Faoite, Saras Manickam, and Tina Isaacs. There are also pieces by veteran sports writer Tony Mariadass and journalists Rehman Rashid and Lionel Yew.
Bitter Root Sweet Fruit
The theme for the 2018 D.K. Dutt Award for Literary Excellence was knowledge and education and Bitter Root Sweet Fruit pulls together the best stories submitted for the competition and includes the winning entry by Bathmaloshanee M., and stories by runners-up Ling Low and Sumitra Selvaraj.
Endings & Beginnings
Endings and Beginnings was the theme for the 2017 D.K. Dutt Award for Literary Excellence and this book includes the winning story by Saras Manickam, and pieces by runners-up Marc de Faoite and Sharmilla Ganesan. New beginnings grow out of endings and here are stories of characters whose life is changed by loss or failure, or by new awareness.
Success Stories
2015 Winner: Hanna Alkaf
Hanna Alkaf’s writing journey began with the Dutt Award in 2015, leading her to secure representation with a New York literary agent and publish multiple books. A journalism graduate from Northwestern University, she has crafted a diverse body of work, including profiles, press releases, corporate annual reports, long-form investigative features, social media content, and email newsletters. Her writing has been featured in the Malaysian editions of Marie Claire, Esquire, Shape, Female, Her World, and more.
2017 Winner: Saras Manickam
Award-winning writer Saras Manickam won the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Contest (Asia) for My Mother Pattu, later featured in The Art and Craft of Asian Stories (2021) and The Best of Malaysian Short Fiction in English 2010-2020 (2022). She also won the 2017 DK Dutt Award for Charan, and her work has appeared in Silverfish, Readings from Readings, and The Masters Review (2021 shortlist).
A former teacher, copywriter, and editor, Saras draws from diverse experiences to craft authentic stories. She lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Entries must be submitted by midnight on July 15, 2025, Malaysian time.
Email submissions to: duttaward2025@gmail.com