The highly anticipated 8th edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize has been awarded to designer Paramita Brahmachari for her work on the “Pebble Monkey” cover.

The renowned set designer Satyabrata Rout’s “Scenography: An Indian Perspective” was also among the winners, which were unveiled on Monday at the India Habitat Centre (IHC). It was chosen as the winner of the inaugural Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize.

Alka Pande, the chair of the jury, and Martine Aamdal Bottheim, Minister-Counsellor and Deputy head of Mission at the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, presented both winners, Brahmachari and Rout, with trophies, certificates and cash awards totaling one lakh.

 “I’m immensely thankful to Oxford Bookstore for having created and sustained this platform which focuses attention on the book as a tactile, visual object and especially for the visibility it has brought to a small press like the Jadavpur University Press, which works with very limited resources. I am delighted and very honoured to receive this award and to have been considered by such a distinguished panel of juries,” said the Kolkata-based designer.

Brahmachari’s book design won the prize after competing against five shortlisted books that covered a variety of topics and genres, including “The Muslim Vanishes,” “Memory Police,” “Birdwatching: A Novel,” “Invisible Empire,” and “Shakti: An exploration of the Divine Feminine.”
Shashi Tharoor, a well-known politician and novelist, Shobhaa De, Kunal Basu, Alka Pande, and Priti Paul, the director of the Apeejay Surrendra Group, made up the jury.

The jury members were noted politician-writer Shashi Tharoor, celebrated author-columnist Shobhaa De, eminent author Kunal Basu, art historian Alka Pande and Priti Paul, director of Apeejay Surrendra Group.
“Oxford Bookstore has been a forerunner in instituting two significant awards. One for the book cover design and now the art book prize. The book cover design has come of age and is now encouraging the creative process behind the making of the book and now the art book prize is another first,” said Pande, chair of the jury.

In addition to the winning jacket, the jury also recognised three other designers for their exceptional skill with graphics and visual storytelling: Leeza John for “The Memory Police,” Bena Sareen for “Birdwatching: A Novel,” and Ahlawat Gunjan for “Invisible Empire.”
The “Kintsugi” book cover by Ishan Khosla received the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize in 2022.