Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury ( bn, আহমেদুর রশীদ চৌধুরী, also Tutul টুটুল) is a Bangladeshi publisher and writer. He won the 2016 Pinter International Writer of Courage Award, selected by writer

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

, The Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award, 2016 and the

Ossietzky Prize The Ossietzky Award ( no, Ossietzkyprisen ) is a prize awarded by the Norwegian chapter of P.E.N., for extraordinary contributions to freedom of speech. The prize is named after writer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Carl von Ossietzky. Recip ...

in 2018. His writings were published in newspapers, magazine, and blogs.

Career

In 1990, Chowdhury founded ''Shuddhashar'' magazine. He established a publishing house, under the same name, in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

in 2004. ''Shuddhashar'' won Shahid Munir Chowdhury Award by the

Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি, ) is an autonomous institution funded by the Bangladesh government to foster the Bengali language, literature and culture, to develop and implement national language policy and to d ...

in 2013. In February 2015, he received a death threat, for publishing materials of atheist writers. On October 31, 2015, he was attacked by assailants with machetes. He was hospitalized in a critical condition. Ansar Al Islam (AQIS Bangladesh) claimed the responsibility. He went into exile and settled in Norway in January 2016. when he was invited as a guest writer by the International Cities of Refuge Network and Norwegian authorities. Now he is editing his online magazine Shuddhashar. 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. Chowdhury was the finalist of 2016 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize and International Publishers Association, Prix Voltaire Short List, 2018. In 2017 he gave an "inspiring" presentation at the

Oslo Freedom Forum Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is a series of global conferences run by the New York-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation under the slogan "Challenging Power". OFF was founded in 2009 as a one-time event and has taken place annually ever since. On ...

Works

* Editor Shuddhashar * Publisher Shuddhashar * ''Nil Bishe Sish Kate Thot'' (Whistling through Blue Poison) (1995)

References

External links

Shuddhashar magazine website
Living people 1973 births Bangladeshi male poets Bangladeshi bloggers Male bloggers Bangladeshi atheists {{Bangladesh-writer-stub