Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury

Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury (Bengali: আহমেদুর রশীদ চৌধুরী, also Tutul টুটুল) is a Bangladeshi publisher and writer. He won 2016 Pinter International Writer of Courage Award, selected by writer Margaret Atwood,[1] The Jeri Laber international freedom to publish Award,[2] 2016 and Ossietzky Prize 2018.[3] His writings were published in newspapers, magazine, and blogs.[4]

Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury
আহমেদুর রশীদ চৌধুরী (টুটুল)
Born (1973-03-28) March 28, 1973
Hason nagar, Sunamganj
NationalityBangladeshi
Other namesTutul
OccupationEditor, publisher, poet, creative consultant
EmployerShuddhashar, steeringARC
AwardsShahid Munir Chowdhury best publisher Award 2013, Pen-Pinter International Writer of Courage Award 2016, The Jeri Laber international freedom to publish Award 2016, International Publishers Association, Freedom to Publish Prize Finalist, 2016, International Publishers Association, Prix Voltaire Short List 2018, Ossietzky Prize 2018
Websitewww.shuddhashar.com

Career

In 1990, Chowdhury founded Shuddhashar magazine. He established a publishing house, under the same name, in Dhaka in 2004.[5] Shuddhashar won Shahid Munir Chowdhury Award by the Bangla Academy in 2013.[4] In February 2015, he received a death threat, for publishing materials of atheist writers.[1]

On October 31, 2015, he was attacked by assailants with machetes.[6][7] He was hospitalized in a critical condition.[4] Ansar Al Islam (AQIS Bangladesh) claimed the responsibility.[4] He went into exile and settled in Norway in January 2016.[8] when he was invited as a guest writer by the International Cities of Refuge Network[9] and Norwegian authorities. Now he is editing his online magazine Shuddhashar.[10] Shuddhashar's primary mission is to publish work at the intersection of politics, free speech, activism, and literature. It is a platform to inspire writers and activists, especially those at risk or in exile, by providing an opportunity to expose their work and contribute to social and political change through the exchange of ideas.

In 2016, Shuddhashar Magazine was awarded with the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage Award.[11] Chowdhury was the finalist of 2016 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize[12] and International Publishers Association, Prix Voltaire Short List, 2018.[13] In 2017 he gave an "inspiring" presentation at the Oslo Freedom Forum.[14]

Works
  • Editor Shuddhashar
  • Publisher Shuddhashar
  • Nil Bishe Sish Kate Thot (Whistling through Blue Poison) (1995)[5]

References
  1. Flood, Alison (October 13, 2016). "Margaret Atwood selects Tutul for Pen writer of courage award". The Guardian. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  2. "Bangladeshi Publishing House to Receive International Freedom to Publish Award". Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  3. "Ossietzkyprisen 2018 til Ahmedur Rashid Chowdury". Norsk PEN (in Norwegian Bokmål). September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  4. "Tutul wins PEN Int'l Writer of Courage award". The Daily Star. October 14, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  5. "Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury / Tutul". International Cities of Refuge Network. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  6. "Secular publisher murdered, three wounded in Bangladesh attacks". Agence France-Presse. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  7. "Attackers said they came to kill publisher Tutul: Witness". bdnews24.com. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  8. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/13/margaret-atwood-selects-tutul-for-pen-writer-of-courage-award
  9. https://www.icorn.org/
  10. "Home". Shuddhashar. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  11. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/13/margaret-atwood-selects-tutul-for-pen-writer-of-courage-award.
  12. "Freedom to publish prize finalist profile: Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury". International Publishers Association. March 31, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  13. "IPA reveals 2018 Prix Voltaire shortlist". International Publishers Association. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  14. ERASMUS (May 28, 2017). "A pastor and a secularist publisher stand together for freedom". The Economist. Retrieved May 30, 2017.


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