The five-book shortlists in the five jury categories – Fiction, Nonfiction, Translation, Children’s, Business and Management – for the 2024 Crossword Book Awards have been announced. The awards ceremony will take place in Mumbai on December 8. The winning authors will get a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each.

Each category is being judged by a separate jury. The jury for Fiction comprises Manjula Narayan, Prayaag Akbar, and Somak Ghoshal. The Nonfiction jury consists of TCA Raghavan, Anuradha Sengupta, and Kaveree Bamzai. Translations are being judged by Arshia Sattar, Nandini Nair, and Malashri Lal. The judges for Children’s are Paro Anand, Parvati Sharma, and Bulbul Sharma. Khozem Merchant, Shaili Chopra, and Sriram make up the jury for Business and Management.

Aakash Gupta, CEO of Crossword Bookstores said about the shortlist, “[…]The shortlisted books represent the pinnacle of Indian literary achievement, showcasing the incredible diversity of voices and perspectives that enrich our literary landscape. We are honoured to celebrate these talented authors and their remarkable contributions to the world of literature.”

Here are the shortlisted books in each category:

Fiction

Nonfiction

Translations

  • Boy, Unloved, Damodar Mauzo, translated from the Konkani by Jerry Pinto, Speaking Tiger Books

  • I Named My Sister Silence, Manoj Rupda, translated from the Hindi by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Westland

  • Sakina’s Kiss, Vivek Shanbhag, translated from the Kannada by Srinath Perur, Penguin India

  • Maria Just Maria, Sandhya Mary, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil, HarperCollins India

  • Fruits of the Barren Tree, Lekhnath Chhetri, translated from the Nepali by Anurag Basnet, Penguin India

Children’s books

Business and management