Journalist Urmi Chanda-Vaz was awarded with the “Best Digital Story of 2015” award at the inaugural edition of Likho Awards for Excellence in Media on Saturday for her story, “Gay Literature Is Firmly Out Of The Closet In India, And Winning Readers Over”, published in Scroll.in on July 18, 2015.

An initiative by Bombay Dost and Humsafar Trust, the Likho Media Awards recognise exemplary work by the media on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community in India. The awards stress on the role that the media plays in changing the attitude towards the LGBTQ community and its responsibility in ensuring an equal society. An eminent panel of jury members, including activists and media professionals, judged the entries.

In her article Chanda-Vaz had argued, “The gay literature scene has exploded in the last five years.” She said that publishers and rookies all all coming together “in recognising and boosting this genre”.