Indian Author Shweta's Short Story Wins Editor's Choice Award 

Indian Observer Post

New Delhi, Nov 28, 2018:

The Daughter That Bleeds, a short story by Shweta Taneja, has been awarded the Editor's Choice Award and is being published in the recently released anthology The Best Asian Speculative Fiction 2018 by Singapore-based Kitaab. Chosen from over 40 stories in 16 countries, the short story has also been translated and published in Romania, and will be translated to Dutch soon.

‘The Daughter That Bleeds’ is a tale about a market for fertile women who have become rare in a post-apocalyptic India, told with a sense of humour. The story reflects upon notions of gender, class, fertility and parental affection. 

Explaining the selection process, the editor Rajat Chaudhuri, an acclaimed author, says, ‘From the mountain load of submissions, I had begun by looking for stories that imagined possible worlds. It was extremely difficult for me to choose the winning stories and in fact every story included in this book is special in one way or the other. It would be great if one could name at least the top dozen but still this would leave out many that others would enjoy."

Overall winners:

Eliza Victoria (Philippines) ~ Web

Shweta Taneja (India) ~ The Daughter that Bleeds

Eldar Sattarov (Kazakhstan) ~ Mountain Maid

Best Experimental Story:

Priya Sarukkai Chabria (India) ~ Slo-Glo

"Speculative fiction gives us new perspectives, new ways to look at ourselves and our society, something that is increasingly important today," says author Shweta Taneja. "I'm delighted that this short weird tale that I wrote to explore my fears of being a modern, independent woman, has received resonance not only in Asia but also in Europe, where it's being translated into two European languages." 

Author Bio

Shweta Taneja is a bestselling Indian fantasy and science fiction author and scriptwriter. Her work is described somewhere between feminist, horror, experimental and humorous. She's best known for her ongoing novel series, Anantya Tantrist Mysteries published with HarperCollins, about a feminist tantrik detective who solves supernatural crime in Delhi.  Find out how she researches on tantriks or say hello to her online with her handle @shwetawrites.  

Excerpt: The Daughter That Bleeds

He had to sell his daughter today. If that didn’t happen, he would have to go back, take fresh blood samples, apply again to the State Auction Bank and wait. Or worse, sell his daughter in the black market, for the money.

“Never,” he whispered. “My blood’s real. My daughter is bleeding for real.” Unlike that Sardar Singh and those geriatric peddlers. Bystanders, jobless, coming to the marketplace day in and day out dragging their barren daughters, forcing them to try surgical methods or potions or medicines in a desperate need to make them fertile. Empty-pocketed, infertile idiots! They just couldn’t afford it. Oh yes, he was going to make a sale today, no matter how.