Shaheen Akhtar (; born 1962) is a Bangladeshi writer.

Biography

She was born in

Cumilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

and studied economics at

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

. She next studied and worked at film-making in India, returning to Bangladesh in 1991. She used to write short stories when she was younger. Her first novel was ''Palabar Path Nei'' (No Escape Route), a story that explored the life of two single women in Dhaka. Shaheen’s second novel Talaash won the Prothom Alo Best Book of the Year Award for 2004. For this novel She also won the 3rd Asian Literary Award-2020, a major prize in South Korea, Talaash (Eng: The Search, trans. Ella Dutta), translated into Korean by Seung Hee Jeon. Talaash (The Search) is about birangana (literally heroic women) of Bangladesh - women who were raped during the liberation war in 1971. Her short stories have been published in Words without Border and other prestigious literary magazines. Shaheen’s works have been translated into English, German, and Korean. She works as an editor in the Media and Communication Unit of Ain o Salish Kendra, a civil rights organization in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Selected works

Source: *''Talaash'' (The Search), novel, translated into English in 2011 *''Shokhi Rongomala'' (Beloved Rongomala), novel, translated into English in 2018 *''Moyur Shinghashon'' (Peacock Throne), novel *''Ashukhi din'' (Unhappy days), novel *''Boner Shange Amarloke'' (Sisters in eternity), short stories *''Poneroti Golpo'' (Fifteen stories), short stories *''Shish o Onnyanno Golpo, short stories'' *''Soti O Swotontora: Bangla Shahitye Nari'', editor *''Zenana Mehfil: Bangali Musalman Lekhikader Nirbachita Rachana, 1904-1938'' (Women in Concert: An Anthology of Bengali Muslim Women's Writings, 1904–1938), editor with

Mousumi Bhowmik Moushumi Bhowmik (born 29 December 1964) is an Indian singer-songwriter, writer and researcher based in Kolkata, she is known to perform Bengali folk songs, as well as her own compositions. She has released four albums― ''Tumio Chil Hao'' (19 ...

Awards

Bangla Academy Literary Award The Bangla Academy Literary Award (; ''Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar'') is given by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh in recognition of creative genius in advancement and overall contribution in the field of Bengali language and literature. ...

(2015) *Asian Literary award (2020) *''Gemcon Literary Award (2019)'' *''Akhteruzzaman Elias Kothashahitya Puroshkar 2015'' * ''IFIC Bank Puroshkar2015''

References

External links

Shaheen Akhtar
at Tiktok 1962 births Living people Bangladeshi short story writers Bangladeshi women novelists Recipients of Bangla Academy Award University of Dhaka alumni 21st-century Bangladeshi writers 21st-century Bangladeshi women writers 21st-century Bangladeshi novelists People from Comilla District {{Bangladesh-writer-stub