2008 Page Edwards Short Fiction Contest

Sohrab Fracis

Sohrab Homi Fracis is the first Indian author to win the Iowa Short Fiction Award, judged by the legendary Iowa Writers’ Workshop and described by the New York Times Book Review as "among the most prestigious literary prizes America offers."  Publishers Weekly called his book, Ticket to Minto: Stories of India and America, “the work of an impressive new talent.”  India Today International described it as a “splendid debut.”  The Hartford Courant confirmed, “The latest to join that impressive roster of [critically acclaimed Indian American] authors is Sohrab Homi Fracis.”  The collection was later released in India and Germany, where the German translation was selected one of the Most Beautiful German Books, 2006.  The original American edition has been studied in several university literature classrooms around the country.  He has been invited to read and speak at such venues as Miami Book Fair International, the National Centre for Performing Arts, India, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Tennessee.  He was interviewed on Gainesville Public Radio and Houston radio.  More reviews, interviews, and articles can be found on his web site www.fracis.com.

Sohrab was a systems consultant before hearing his calling to be a writer, starting with evening creative writing workshops at FCCJ.  He returned to school, at the University of North Florida, and in 1993 obtained an M.A. in English with a concentration in creative writing.  He then taught literature and creative writing at UNF from 1993-2003.  In 1999, he was awarded the Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in Literature/Fiction by the Florida Department of State.  In 2002, he was awarded the Walter E. Dakin Fellowship in Fiction at the Sewanee Writers' Conference, Tennessee.  In 2004 he was invited to be Visiting Writer in Residence at Augsburg College, Minneapolis.  In 2006 he was an artist in residence at the Seaside Institute, Florida.  And in 2007 he was an artist in residence at the legendary artists' community of Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, New York.  Since 2004 he has been the final judge and presenter of the Page Edwards Short Fiction Award.