At a time when the volume of information around us continues to grow, the space to pause, reflect and feel seems to be shrinking. News cycles are faster and attention spans shorter. And yet the need to understand the human condition, in all its complexity, remains as urgent as ever. It is in this context that The News on Sunday (TNS) is introducing a new fiction segment on its Literati page. Beginning this weekend and continuing as a monthly feature on the last Sunday of each month, this space is intended to become a place readers can return to with a sense of anticipation. Consistency is central to this effort – not merely as a matter of scheduling, but as a way of cultivating a relationship with readers who value storytelling as an essential, rather than incidental, part of public discourse.
The focus, for now, will be on contemporary short fiction, while also making room for poetry and translated works, particularly from Urdu. This is both a creative and a cultural choice: to broaden the range of voices and forms available within the newspaper, and to bridge linguistic spaces that too often remain separate. We have, and continue to, engage established, published writers to help shape the tone and direction of this segment. In time, we hope to open these pages to a wider pool of contributors. The decision to introduce this feature is also a response to a noticeable absence. Space for fiction, especially short fiction, has steadily diminished in mainstream media. Yet fiction has a unique capacity to engage with reality. It allows for nuance, ambiguity and emotional depth in ways that conventional reporting or analysis sometimes cannot. In a newspaper, this becomes particularly significant. Fiction can say what at times cannot always be said directly; it can approach the truth obliquely. It also brings such work to audiences who may not actively seek it elsewhere.
At this stage, we are deliberately not imposing rigid thematic boundaries. The intent is not to box writers into predetermined concerns, but to encourage work that remains attentive to the present moment – neither overtly political nor detached from the realities of the time. The aim is to allow stories to emerge organically from the anxieties, contradictions and quiet truths that define contemporary life. The first story in this series reflects that approach (our readers will find it in today’s TNS). It explores grief and creative paralysis in the aftermath of loss, while also questioning authorship itself – who controls a story. Over time, we hope this space evolves into something more than a feature – into a habit or a moment of engagement within the broader flow of the newspaper. The long-term ambition is simple: to make fiction feel like a natural, necessary part of what a newspaper offers its readers.
