After receiving over 70 eligible entries from five countries around the world, the winner of the inaugural C$25,000 Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature is Avtar Singh Billing's novel, “Khali Khoohaan di Katha” (The Story of Empty Wells).
Based in Vancouver, The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature aims to inspire the creation of Punjabi literature across borders, bridging Punjabi communities around the world and promoting Punjabi literature on a global scale. The prize winners will be honoured at a literary gala on October 25 at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology. 
"I feel happy and lucky to be the first author to win the prestigious, inaugural Dhahan Prize in Punjabi Literature," said Avtar Singh Billing, author of Khali Khoohan di Katha. "I feel proud that the Punjabi literary world found my sixth novel worthy of this honour."
The Dhahan Prize awards $25,000 CDN annually to one best book in fiction published in either of the two Punjabi scripts, Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi. The $5,000 CDN runner-up prize winners for 2014 are Jasbir Bhullar from India for his book of short stories, “Ik Raat da Samunder,” and Pakistan-based Zubair Ahmed for his book, “Kbooter, Bnairy te Galian.”
Awarded by Canada India Education Society (CIES) in partnership with the Department of Asian Studies at University of British Columbia (UBC), the prize is funded by an endowment from Barj and Rita Dhahan, and family and friends. 
 On Friday, October 24, the Dhahan Prize will host a free public reading in Surrey, Canada, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., followed by a reception. Prize-winners will read from their winning books in Punjabi, with translation to English. The next day, on Saturday, October 25, the winners of the Dhahan Prize in Punjabi Literature will be honoured at a gala reception at the Museum of Anthropology at University of British Columbia. To attend and learn more, visit  www.dhahanprize.com.