LAHORE: The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature has announced its winners for2018 onThursday.

The prestigious $25,000 award for Punjabi writers, published both in Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi scripts, was announced in a ceremony held in Vancouver, Canada.

According to the results, the first prize worth $25,000 CAD has been awarded to Sooraj Dee Akh, a novel by Baldev Singh. The book was in competition with two of the finalist s,Jhoota Sacha Koi Nah, a collection of short stories in Shahmukhi by Nasir Baloch, and another book of short stories, titled Prism (Gurmukhi), by Harpreet Sekha. Both the finalists got $10,000 each.

`The 2018 Dhahan Prize winners are well recognized for their creative works, representing the three PunjabsEast, West and Diasporic.

The themes and stories are relevant and timely contributions in understanding the past and fast changing cultures in the global village,` said Barj S. Dhahan, the founder of the prize.