TOTO AWARDS 2023 CREATIVE WRITING IN ENGLISH CALL FOR ENTRIES
NOTE: The last date to submit applications has been shifted to 30 September 2022.
Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) invites applications from persons between the ages of 18 and 29 for the 2023 TOTO Awards for Creative Writing in English in three genres: short plays, short stories and poetry.
Two winners, to be decided by an independent panel of jurors, will receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each. Soft copies of the entries should reach TFA by 15 September 2022 at the latest.
These awards are meant only for Indian citizens. (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 1993 and 1 January 2005. No exceptions will be made.
The soft copy of each entry MUST be accompanied by an Application Form, which you can copy-paste from this link. You can also request a copy of the form by writing to toto.tfaawards@gmail.com. No entry will be accepted without this form, with all particulars filled in, along with your name as it appears in your bank account, and signature. You can use a digital signature or take a printout of the form, sign, scan and email it.
Entries should be sent in 12 pt Times New Roman, with 1.5 line space.
Each entry should be not more than 7,500 words (except in the case of plays).
If you are submitting poems, please send us between 8 and 12 poems.
If you are submitting short stories, their combined word length should be at least 2,500 words. You can, if you wish, send only a single story of 2,500 to 7,500 words.
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.
The subject line of your email should clearly state the category for which you are applying, e.g., Writing-English (poetry) or Writing-English (short fiction), or Writing-English (plays).
Your entry and application form should be sent as separate attachments on your email (MS Word document only) to toto.tfaawards@gmail.com
Also ensure that with the exception of the Application Form, your name should appear NOWHERE, either on any page or in the title of your MS Word document.
If you have any further questions, please write to the email address given above.
The Fine Print: 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 blog, 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.
These awards are being supported by the Mani Rao Foundation and Naboneeta Majumdar
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
TFA encourages and supports young emerging talent in the arts in India.
