Bombay –based writer Meghna Pant will receive the  Kumaon Literary Festival’s FON (Fellows of Nature) South Asia Short Story Award in Nature writing in October for her short story “People of the Sun.” She will be felicitated with the award as well as a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh  next month. Two other Indian authors were declared runners up for  this South Asian literary award.

This Fellows of Nature award is basically to save an endangered species of writer : ‘the nature writer’!

The award was founded to build a community of writers who can revive  interest in nature writing and build awareness so that people are inspired to protect and conserve nature’s beauty and their surroundings.

The annual travelling literary festival gives this award in partnership with the French Institute of India and Wildlife Trust of India to “revive nature writing and bring the spotlight on critical environment issues like climate change through this form of literature.”

“Nature writing was once considered to be the ‘rock and roll’ of literature. In the last few decades, it has shown a steady decline. Like all extinctions, nature writing’s gradual disappearance represents a profound loss. FON is our little effort to revive this art,” Sumant Batra, founder of Kumaon Literary Festival, said.

Meghna Pant’s story was shortlisted from over 165 entries received from across South Asia. Meghna  has also  a novel, “One & A Half Wife” and a collection of short stories called, “Happy Birthday!”.

The winner was selected by a jury comprising  writers Jerry Pinto, Sidhartha Gigoo, Mridula Koshy and Shinie Antony from India, James Champion from the UK, Samrat Upadhyay from USA and Afia Aslam from Pakistan.

“Writing about the close relationship between humankind and nature plays an important role in creating interest and building respect for it amongst book lovers and others. There is a pressing need to restore this literary art,” Asha Batra, Founder of FON Award said.

The organizers also announced the first and second runners up – Shabir Ahmad Mir from Jammu and Kashmir and Vrinda Baliga from Hyderabad respectively.

Sujata Parashar, Director of FON, said that an anthology of the top stories from the received entries will also be published.

  Asia, books, literature, Media, Meghna Pant