KLF announces shortlist (English) for the annual Book Awards

New Delhi, Jan 16

Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) has announced the shortlist (English) for the Annual KLF Book Awards for 2024.

This year's shortlist includes works such as Manoj Mitta's 'Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India', Amitav Ghosh's 'Smoke and Ashes: A Writer's Journey through Opium's Hidden Histories', Salman Rushdie's 'Victory City', Devika Rege's 'Quarterlife: A Novel', Ranjit Hoskote's 'Icelight', Gurcharan Das's 'Another Sort of Freedom' and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's 'Breaking the Mould - Reimagining India's Economic Future'.

Rashmi Ranjan Parida, founder and director of KLF, said, "Literature is the mirror and the lamp of society -- it reflects our realities and illuminates our dreams. We strive to honour those literary works that challenge our perspectives, enrich our experiences, and elevate our understanding of the world and ourselves."

In the Non-Fiction category, Amitav Ghosh’s 'Smoke and Ashes: A Writer's Journey through Opium's Hidden Histories', Neerja Chowdhry's 'How Prime Ministers Decide', and Manoj Mitta's 'Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India' have been shortlisted.

The Fiction shortlist boasts of Salman Rushdie's 'Victory City', Vauhini Vara's 'This is Salvaged: Stories', and Devika Rege's 'Quarterlife: A Novel'.

Books in the Poetry shortlist include Ranjit Hoskote's 'Icelight', Robin S. Ngangom's 'My Invented Land: New and Selected Poems', and Varavara Rao's 'A Life in Poetry'.

The Debut shortlist includes Atharva Pandit's 'Hurda', Sohini Chattopadhyay's 'The Day I Became a Runner: A Women's History of India through the Lens of Sport', and Radhika Iyengar's 'Fire on the Ganges: Life Among the Dead in Banaras'.

In the Children category, the shortlisted books include Bijal Vachharajani, Rajiv Eipe's 'When Fairyland Lost Its Magic', Nikhil Gulati, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer's 'The People Of The Indus: And the Birth of Civilisation in South Asia', Ravi Kapoor, and Nicholas Hoffland's 'Golden Tiger Mountain'.

The Business shortlist comprises Gurcharan Das's 'Another Sort of Freedom', Akshat Rathi's 'Climate Capitalism: Winning the Global Race to Zero Emissions', and Raghuram Rajan, Rohit Lamba's 'Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India's Economic Future'.

The Translation shortlist includes Vivek Shanbhag's 'Sakina's Kiss', translated by Srinath Perur, Imayam's 'A Woman Burnt', translated by GJV Prasad, and Manoj Rupda's 'I Named My Sister Silence' translated by Hansda Sowvendra Shekha.

KLF will be held from February 9 to 11 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.