The 12th edition of the Publishing Next Industry Awards will be presented on January 12, 2026, at a function in New Delhi. The awards will be presented in 11 categories. These awards, instituted in 2014, are presented to publishers and publishing professionals and “recognise talent, initiative, entrepreneurship and quality in book publishing.”
The shortlisted submissions in each category are as follows:
Editor of the Year
Anita Manu, Juggernaut Books
Lokesh Malti Prakash, Eklavya Foundation
Reena Shalini, Kalachuvadu Publications
Seema, Eklavya Foundation
Illustrator of the Year
Cheyenne Olivier, Juggernaut Books
Krishna Bala Shenoi, Pratham Books
Ogin Nayam, Pratham Books
Pankaj Saikia, Pratham Books
Rajiv Eipe, HarperCollins India
Printed Book of the Year (English)
100 Indian Stories: A Feast of Remarkable Short Fiction from the 19th, 20th, and 21st Centuries, edited by AJ Thomas, Aleph Book Company
Gods, Guns, and Missionaries: The Making Of The Modern Hindu Identity, Manu S Pillai, Penguin Random House India
Love in the Time of Hate: In the Mirror of Urdu, edited by Rakshanda Jalil, Simon & Schuster India
Our Potpourri Planet, Ranjit Lal, HarperCollins India
Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains: Stories from Arunachal Pradesh, Subi Taba, Penguin Random House India
Printed Book of the Year (Art, Illustration, and Photography)
FN Souza: The Archetypal Artist, Janeita Singh, Niyogi Books
Food and Farming: A Journey Through India in Comics, Orijit Sen, Vidyun Sabhaney, Harsho Mohan Chattoraj, Leftword Books
PNK Panicker’s Ghost Stories, Suresh Eriyat, illustrated by Adithi Krishnadas, Tulika Publishers
Rain Dogs, Rohit Chawla, HarperCollins India
Theyyam: Indian Folk Ritual Theatre – An Insider’s Vision, KK Gopalakrishnan, Niyogi Books.
Printed Book of the Year (Indian Languages)
Aazaadi, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, translated by Naved Akber, HarperCollins India
Awaak, Gagan Gill, Rajkamal Prakashan
Bhojan aur Pachan, Anu Gupta, illustrated by Karen Haydock, designed by Kanak Shashi, Eklavya Foundation
Gungunaiye, Gulzar, Radhakrishna Prakashan
Seepiyaan, Javed Akhtar, Rajkamal Prakashan
Children’s Book of the Year (For ages 0-8)
Cutpiece Kumar (Bengali ed.), written and illustrated by Indu L Harikumar, translated from English to Bangla by Shuddho Banerjee, Eklavya Foundation
Ee ki Matra, Farah Aziz, illustrated by Rajiv Eipe, Jugnoo Prakashan, Ektara
Go Go Flamingo, Devashish Makhija, illustrated by Priya Kuriyan, Tulika Publishers
Nila Nila, written and composed by Gurupriya Atreya and Vedanth Bharadwaj, illustrated by Vaishnavi Giri, T4tales
The Rat in the Cat, Arundhati Venkatesh, illustrated by Canato Jimo, Pratham Books
Children’s Book of the Year (For ages 8+)
Kya, Hai Kya Ye, written and illustrated by Rohan Chakravarty, designed by Kanak Shashi, Eklavya Foundation
Master of the 7 Swars, Pratyush Gupta, Roli Books
Song of the Asunam, CG Salamander, HarperCollins Children’s Books
The Little Book of Indian Dogs, Anusha Ramanathan, HarperCollins Children’s Books
The School for Bad Girls, Madhurima Vidyarthi, Duckbill
Book Cover of the Year (Children’s Books)
Baloo’s Big Win: How Palwankar Baloo Broke the Caste Barrier in Cricket, cover designed by Samar Bansal, Puffin
How and Why Tales, cover designed by Gina Mary James, Puffin
Kempi, cover designed by Richa Shubhangi, Awwa Pustaka
Master of the 7 Swars, cover designed by Pratyush Gupta, Roli Books
Muthu and Kappu, cover designed by Sheena Deviah, Pratham Books
Book Cover of the Year (Indian Languages)
Adugemaneyalondu Huli, cover designed by Karthik, Bahuroopi
On Merleau-Ponty, cover designed by Trinankur Banerjee, Jadavpur University Press
Phans, cover designed by Shiraz Hussain, Rajkamal Prakashan
Thakurbadi, cover designed by Aditya, Penguin Random House India
Ujla Andhera, cover designed by Shiraz Hussain, Rajkamal Prakashan
Book Cover of the Year (English)
Bird Milk and Mosquito Bones, designed by Aakriti Khurana, published by Penguin Random House India
Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada, cover designed by Amit Malhotra, HarperCollins India
Maria, Just Maria, cover designed by Aashim Raj, published by HarperCollins India
The Burnings, cover designed by Haitenlo Semy, Pan Macmillan India
The Many Lives of Pauloma Chattopadhyay, cover designed by Amit Malhotra, Niyogi Books
Publisher of the Year
Aleph Book Company
Ektara Trust
Juggernaut Books
Pan Macmillan India
Yoda Press
