The Banaras Lit Fest has announced the shortlists in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and translation categories for its 2025 book awards. Besides English, the awards are also given to Hindi language books.
The winners will be announced on February 23 in New Delhi. They will receive a cash prize of Rs 51,000, along with a certificate and a trophy, during the festival which will be held in Varanasi between March 7 and March 9.
In addition to the book awards, the festival will also present special honours in Banaras Lit Fest Kalidas Award for Scheduled Indian Language (cash prize of Rs 51,000), Bhartendu Harishchandra Lifetime Achievement Award (cash prize of Rs 1,00,000), Gomati Devi Eminence Award in Seven Categories (cash prize of Rs 21,000 each), and Nav Bharat Sarjak Samman in Eleven Categories (cash prize of Rs 11,000 each).
The English shortlists
Ruskin Bond Award for Fiction
The Patient in Bed Number 12, Raj Kamal Jha, Penguin India
Aunties of Vasant Kunj, Anuradha Marwah, Rupa Publications
Deccan Queen: Take Two, Farrukh Dhondy, Om Book International
Never Never Land, Namita Gokhale, Speaking Tiger Books
The Woman Who Climbed Trees, Smriti Ravindra, HarperCollins India
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award for Nonfiction
Fire on the Ganges: Life Among Dead in Banaras, Radhika Iyengar, HarperCollins India
How Prime Ministers Decide, Neerja Chowdhury, Aleph Book Company
Bharat Rising: Dharma, Democracy and Diplomacy, Utpal Kumar, BlueOne Ink
The Jannayak Karpoori Thakur: Voice of the Voiceless, Santosh Singh and Aditya Anmol, Penguin India
Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore’s Interregnum (1760-1799), Vikram Sampath, Penguin India
Sarojini Naidu Award for Poetry
To the Moon and Back: Life, Love and Everything In-between, Maria Goretti, Om Book International
Nostalgia: Crafting a Home Within, Mahua Sen, Red River
White Shirts of Summer: New and Selected Poems, Mamang Dai, Speaking Tiger Books
My Body Didn’t Come Before Me: Poems, Kuhu Joshi, Speaking Tiger Books
I’ll Have It Here: Poems, Jeet Thayil, HarperCollins India
Rabindranath Tagore Award for Translation
Fire Bird, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Janani Kannan, Penguin India
The Keeper of Desolation: Stories, Chandan Pandey, translated from the Hindi by Sayari Debnath, HarperCollins India
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
Boy, Unloved, Damodar Mauzo, translated from the Konkani by Jerry Pinto, Speaking Tiger Books
The Hindi shortlists
Kabir Award for Poetry Hindi
कुछ भी वैसा नहीं, उमा शंकर चौधरी, राधा कृष्ण प्रकाशन
आत्मद्रोह , आर चेतनक्रांति, राजकमल प्रकाशन
नीली बयाज़, अदनान कफिल दरवेश, राजकमल प्रकाशन
फिर उगना , पार्वती तिर्की, राधा कृष्ण प्रकाशन
मोर्चे पर विदागीत , विहाग वैभव, राजकमल प्रकाशन
Rahul Sankrityayan Award for Nonfiction
गायगेका की औरतें , जोराम तालाम नाबाम, राधा कृष्ण प्रकाशन
अल्लाह नाम की सियासत , हिलाल अहमद, सेतु प्रकाशन
इतिहास में अफ़वाह, शंभूनाथ, वाणी प्रकाशन
गार्जियनता , व्योमेश शुक्ल, रुख़ पब्लिकेशन
बोरसी भर आंच, यतीश कुमार, राधा कृष्ण प्रकाशन
Premchand Award for Fiction
अगम बहै दरियाव , शिवमूर्ति, राजकमल प्रकाशन
आउशवित्ज: एक प्रेम कथा , गरिमा श्रीवास्तव, वाणी प्रकाशन
तृन धरि ओट , अनामिका, वाणी प्रकाशन
हमनवाई न थी , तसनीम ख़ान, सेतु प्रकाशन
चक्काजाम , गौतम चौबे, राधा कृष्ण प्रकाशन
Mahadevi Verma Award for Translation
बरफ महल, थारयै वेसोस, अनुवाद: नीलाक्षी सिंह, सेतु प्रकाशन
आज़ादी , चित्रा बैनर्जी दिवाकरूणी, अनुवाद: नवेद अकबर, हार्पर हिंदी
नये भारत में दीमक लगी शहतीरें, परकाला प्रभाकर, अनुवाद: व्यालोक पाठक, राजकमल प्रकाशन
सतरंगी दस्तरख्वान, सुमना रॉय और कुणाल रे, अनुवाद: वंदना राग व गीत चतुर्वेदी, राजकमल प्रकाशन
ग्रेट कंचना सर्कस, विश्वास पाटिल, अनुवाद: रवि बुले, वाणी प्रकाशन
Disclosure: Sayari Debnath is senior writer for the Books and Ideas section of Scroll.
