Caption: Subsidies aren't enough. Farmers have to buy a major chunk of their requirements from privately owned shops, where their expenses are substantially higher. © Surya Sen

Down To Earth: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7.

It's tax season. In a month's time the IRS will be expecting your paperwork. Have you filed yet? It's painful, I know, but it has to be done. For the last couple of years, I have had Vijaya Muzumdar at Taxolution help me out. Her clients are mostly artists and freelancers and so she knows how we operate and where and how to legally get money back.

The great thing about her is her prompt responses when we call. And unlike other tax consultants who bill by the hour, Vijaya is always available to connect with throughout the year. As circumstances are bound to change, it's great to have such a wonderful and pleasant resource to clear your doubts and sleep better at night.

Vijaya doesn't have a web site – something that I hope changes soon – but her contact information is: 908-276-0150. Please tell her TIFFINBOX sent ya.

If you haven't got your act together, with invoices and receipts from 2004, you may want to check in with her about getting an extension. If you owe the IRS, you will end up paying a small percentage as a fine, but that's better than not getting it done at all.

I suspect this sounds like an infomercial, but trust me Vijaya hasn't asked me to plug her business. I wouldn't recommend anybody if I wasn't genuinely thrilled or impressed with what they had to offer.

Caption: At a mandal office of Obuladevara Chervu, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, farmers queue for groundnut seeds. Each farmer can get a maximum 120kg of seed, this is not enough. Each hectare of land requires 144kg.  In many such offices, agricultural officers have been beaten up for lack of subsidised seeds. © Surya Sen

Down To Earth: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6.

Each year, The Asian American Writers' Workshop honors outstanding achievement in Asian American literature through the Annual Asian American Literary Awards.  Now in their eighth year, the literary awards are again taking submissions for eligible works in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction.  

The postmark deadline for submitting work is Friday, April 22, 2004.  Please read through the guidelines below to see if your work is eligible.

Books may be nominated by literary agents, publicists, or authors.  All entries must be accompanied by an application form.  To download an application, please check this page.

To find out more about the literary awards, visit the AAWW website.

2005 Application Guidelines for The Asian American Literary Awards

The Award

The purpose of the Asian American Literary Award is to recognize an individual work written by an Asian American, on the basis of artistic and literary merit, published during the calendar year of 2004.

The Award will be presented to a maximum of three works considered by the Judging Committee to be the best among all entries eligible for the Award.

The Award consists of a crystal artpiece etched with the name of the work, author and year; an opportunity to read at the Eighth Annual Literary Awards Ceremony; additional media notification through press releases; and the possibility of going on a national award tour (up to five U.S. cities) sponsored in part by The Asian American Writers' Workshop.

Eligible Works

Works eligible must have had premiere publication during the calendar year 2004 (January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004) and must have been published for general commercial release in the United States.

The types of genres eligible are as follows: fiction, a short story collection by a single author, novellas, a poetry collection by a single author, creative nonfiction, memoir and plays.

Works must have been written by a person of Asian descent currently residing or who has resided in the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii. “Asia” is defined as the regions of East, South and Southeast Asia as well as the Pacific Islands. The Asian American Writers' Workshop and the Judging Committee reserve the right to take the term “Asian descent” on a case-by-case basis if need be.

Works must have been published by large, trade or small presses/publishers. Self-published works, ‘zines or vanity publications are not eligible. Anthologies or books containing more than one author are not eligible.

Works must be originally written in English.

The Award may be awarded to works that have previously won other prizes or recognition.

Entry of Works

Entries may only be submitted by the author, agent, publicist or publisher of the work.

A completed application form must be submitted with each entry. Four copies of the work (clear photocopies and galleys are acceptable) must also be submitted for review by the Judging Committee. No books will be returned. Additional copies may be requested for shortlisted works. All entries become the property of The Asian American Writers' Workshop or members of the Judging Committee.

Authors, publicists, publishers or agents may submit more than one entry, but a separate application form must be completed for each entry.

A $100.00 entry fee must accompany each separate entry. Checks should be made payable to “The Asian American Writers' Workshop.” In the event that a participant cannot pay this fee, a waiver may be granted upon approval. Participants requesting a waiver must contact the Workshop prior to submitting an entry.

Entries must be received by Friday, April 22, 2005. No exceptions will be made. The Asian American Writers' Workshop will accept entries via First Class Mail, FedEx, UPS or hand delivery. The Workshop is not responsible for lost entries.

Participants are urged to submit eligible works as soon as possible. As soon as entries are received, the Workshop will mail participants acknowledgment cards. Please contact the Workshop via telephone or email if participants do not receive a card four (4) weeks after an entry was submitted.

Please do not contact The Asian American Writers' Workshop or the Judging Committee to inquire about the status of your entry once you have received the acknowledgment card.

Judging

The Judging Committee is selected by the Workshop.

The Judging Committee will be divided into three (3) subcommittees. These subcommittees are responsible for compiling a shortlist of entries submitted for the Award. Once shortlists have been compiled, all nine (9) judges will individually rank shortlisted works on a 1–10 point system (10 being highest) on literary and artistic merit. The works with the highest overall ranking will be awarded Annual Asian American Literary Awards.

The decision of the Judging Committee is final.

Contact Information

The Asian American Literary Award
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop
16 West 32nd Street, Suite 10A
New York, NY 10001
tel:  212.494.0061
fax:  212.494.0062
email  desk@aaww.org
web site

Sakhi, Breakthrough & The New School present a screening of the film MAYA on March 18, 2005, 6:00-9:30 p.m.

“Maya is a powerful film by filmmaker Digvijay Singh that depicts community silence around violence against young girls – and the power of a young boy’s questioning. We look forward to your participation in a stimulating discussion on the involvement of men in the movement to end violence against women.”

The movie will be shown at 66 West 12th St (between 5th and 6th Avenues) Room 407. This is a FREE! event, though seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Men in the Movement to end Violence Against Women, a discussion moderated by Sunita Mehta, Founder of Women for Afghan Women will include the following speakers: Jon Gilgoff, Educational Alliance and Joe Samalin, Break the Cycle

This event is co-sponsored by Sakhi for South Asian Women, The New School, Lifetime TV’s “Stop Violence Against Women Week”, and Asia Society.