The Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize announced its longlist for the 11th edition. 28 book covers have been nominated for the Prize from across India and a range of literary genres.

The shortlist will be announced at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) between January 9 and 11, 2026 and the winner, in New Delhi in March.

This year’s jury comprises museum curator Alka Pande, alongside author and member of parliament Shashi Tharoor, and guest juror and installation artist Samar Jodha.

Here is the complete longlist:

  • 65 Ways to Talk and Forget, Raja Chakraborty
    Designer: Supriyo Chakraborty

  • Abantar Kathar Bhire Ache, Rajarshi Das Bhowmik
    Designer: Pinaki De

  • Becoming Bangalore, Roopa Pai
    Designer: Priya Kuriyan

  • Biplab-Prashange, Jean-Paul Sartre, translated by Chandan Adhya
    Designer: Trinankur Banerjee

  • Bristijatak by Kazemi, translated by Anushtup Sett
    Designer: Poushali Paul

  • Carnival: A Novel, Sayam Bandyopadhyay, translated by Arunava Sinha
    Designer: Pinaki De

  • Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum, G Aravindan
    Designer: Ramu Aravindan

  • Chikkamma Tours (Pvt.) Ltd, Unmana
    Designer: Saurabh Garge

  • Flashlights: An Anthology of Very Short Stories
    Designer: Bishnupriya Chowdhuri

  • Geisha in the Gota Patti, Chetna Keer
    Designer: Rupak Neogy

  • Gods, Guns and Missionaries, Manu Pillai
    Designer: Ahlawat Gunjan

  • Great Eastern Hotel, Ruchir Joshi
    Designer: Itu Chaudhuri

  • Kanchhi, Weena Pun
    Designer: Pia Alizé

  • Lal Ded, Arvind Gigoo
    Designer: Pinaki De

  • Magadh, Shrikant Verma, translated by Arunava Sinha
    Designer: Rochishnu Sanyal

  • Mahabharatam, Sugathakumari
    Designer: Dhanya Sreejith

  • Many Ramayanas, Many Lessons, Anand Neelakantan
    Designer: Rajatveer Singh and illustrator Onkar Fondekar

  • My Beloved Life: A Novel, Amitava Kumar
    Designer: Bena Sareen

  • Once Upon the Queens: Gender Upturned Tales from Bengal, Satabdi Das, translated by Nadia Imam
    Designer: Paramita Brahmachari

  • Pratap: A Defiant Newspaper, Chander Mohan and Jyotsna Mohan
    Designer: Saurav Das

  • Sanatana Dharma, Kripamoya Das
    Designer: Aakriti Khurana

  • Textiles from Bengal: A Shared Legacy, Sonia Ashmor, Tirthankar Roy and Niaz Zaman
    Designer: Ishan Khosla

  • The Diary of an Author
    Designer and author: Ajitabha Bose

  • The Homeless Princess
    Designer and author: Ujjwal Ghosh

  • The Menstrual Coupé, Shahina K Rafiq, translator Priya K Nair
    Designer: Pia Alizé

  • The Mosaic: A Collection of Poems, Swati Chopra
    Designer: Amrita Chakravorty, illustrator Catherine Kuruvilla

  • The Remains of the Body, Saikat Majumdar
    Designer: Shadab Khan

  • Trimaya, Manisha Kulshreshtha
    Designer: Kanupriya Kulshreshtha

Disclosure: Arunava Sinha is the editor of the Books and Ideas section of Scroll.