Toto Awards 2012 - Creative Writing in English - Call for Entries

Toto Funds the Arts (TFA), in association with Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, invites entries for its seventh annual Toto awards, from persons between the ages of 18 and 29, for writing in English in three genres: short plays, short stories and poetry. Two winners, to be decided by an eminent panel, will get a cash award of Rs 25,000 each. Entries should reach TFA by 10 September 2011.

The awards are meant only for Indian nationals resident in India. You are eligible to apply if you were born on or after 1 January 1982. No exceptions will be made. Also, since the spirit of the award is to identify promising writers, please do not apply if you are already a well-known writer.

Each entry should be not more than 7,500 words. If you are submitting poems, please send 6 to 10 poems. If you are submitting short stories, their combined word length should be at least 2,500. You can, if you wish, send only a single story of 2,500 to 7,500 words. You can send entries in all three categories — poems, short stories and plays — but you must send in separate entries for each category. For example, your poems can constitute one entry, your short stories the second entry, plays a third entry. The word limit will remain 7,500 per entry.

Entries should be sent in soft email copy to totofundsthearts@yahoo.com, as well as in hard copy form by courier or ordinary post only (and NOT by speed or registered post) to the address below (the phone numbers supplied are for courier purposes only).

Toto Funds the Arts (TFA)

H 301 Adarsh Gardens

8th Block, 47th Cross

Jayanagar

Bangalore 560 082

Phone 080 26990549/098806 23357

Please state the awards category for which you are applying on the envelope, e.g., Writing-English.

Each entry must be accompanied by a statement, signed by you, confirming your name, date of birth, whether your work has been published in print (give details), and also affirming that the submitted work is original. Please also give us your postal address, email ID, phone number (landline and mobile) and a short bio. Please ensure that the hard copy version of your submissions does not carry your name on it. Your entries will be given code numbers to protect your identity from the jury during the judging process.

If you have any further queries please email totofundsthearts@yahoo.com or tfaindia@yahoo.com No queries will be answered on phone.

Note: Submitted material will not be returned. The decision of the TFA jury will be final and cannot be contested in any forum. We reserve the right to use your submitted writings (if necessary) to publicise the awards either on our website or in any in-house materials such as a newsletter. Otherwise, the copyright rests with the writer and your submission will be put to no other use without your express permission.

Toto Funds the Arts is a not-for-profit public trust set up in memory of Angirus ‘Toto’ Vellani, who was intensely passionate about music, literature and films.

Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions is one of those rare corporate houses that support young people in the arts.