The Historia Awards

Results

Before we move on to the results, we wish to clear something.

This award was meant to be a historical fiction awards, and not a fanfiction awards.

When writing a book based on an already existing epic like Mahabharata, or some already existing myth like Eros and Psyche, we must make sure that a reader who has little knowledge about the theme is given knowledge and made aware about the history or mythology. It is the writer's duty to present facts and rebuild the atmosphere of the concerned era.

In a fanfiction, you need not be concerned much about portrayal of history ( which includes psychological mindset of people of those times, geographical setting, interaction between different ranks of people, dress code, habits, rituals, politics ) because it is concerned more about rebuilding the characters as the writer wishes.

If a writer writes a plain story on Arjuna without any historical elements (except the claim that he is a character of Mahabharata) it becomes a fanfic. If a writer writes a story on Hades without showing us mythology and the lost Gods, it is plain.

On the other hand, if a writer writes a book on Krishna, with intricate details of the geographical elements, the caste system, the Gurukul, and everything about the day-to-day life back then, it becomes a historical fiction. If a writer pens down a story on Hades and Persephone keeping in mind the rules of a marriage back then, the frightening (and beautiful) portrayal of the underworld, it becomes an absolutely delightful mythological tale.

Also, it need not be that a historical fiction must always have characters from history. Maybe the names are fictional, but the setting must be doing justice to the concerned era.

The challenge with a Mahabharata fanfic is that Mahabharata is a historical event, and to make a Mahabharata fanfic a historical fiction one needs to put facts.

Or else, if we just consider that it is a story about Mahabharata characters without any historical rituals or hierarchy shown, it is a fanfiction.

Like we can write a love story between Mirzya and Sahiba, but with no historical stuff in it.

Consider the four pillars of a story– plot, narration, grammar and punctuation, epic ending.

Most of the books were weak in grammar and punctuation. Starting sentences with small letters, using short forms like 'lil' instead of 'little', commas everywhere, no quotation marks, tense problems– they don't happen in a good story right?

We hope that this criticism will be taken sportingly, and we wish that the participants will improve.

We will first present the individual scores, then the final ones.

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Individual scores by each judge:

Shivran86

1)The Pharaoh's Lotus

Cover: 4/5
Title: 5/5
Blurb: 8/8
First chapter: 4.5/5
Plot: 9/10
Character Development: 8/8
Grammar and Punctuation: 8.5/9
Relevance: 10/10

Total: 57/60

"Within the Pharaoh's harem, only one flower can bloom..."

This line has won my heart. It was amazing and attracted my attention. That's how a blurb should be! The stunning imagery and use of words painted a beautiful picture. Visualisation of each scene was easy and natural.

Often we say that being a royal isn't easy, though we don't understand its depth. To dream of being sent far away from your homeland into the territory of an enemy, to fight there for survival...well, love isn't easy. From reading the first few chapters, Malawashina's character developed into a relatable soul. The wish to be secure, the wish to escape, the unknown future being gifted to you– it was all so beautiful! There were a few grammatical errors like a sentence starting with a small letter, or a comma missing. Just some polishing needed.