The shortlist for the prestigious Jury Awards has been carefully chosen by the distinguished jury of the 2024 Crossword Book Awards. There are several outstanding literary works competing for top awards this year, making the competition more intense than ever.

We are thrilled to announce the shortlist for the Crossword Book Awards 2024,” remarked Aakash Gupta, CEO of Crossword Bookshops, about the Jury Awards Shortlist. There have been several exceptional literary works competing for recognition this year. The works on the shortlist showcase the remarkable diversity of voices and viewpoints that enhance our literary landscape, and they represent the height of Indian literary achievement. It is a privilege for us to acknowledge these gifted writers and their outstanding literary accomplishments.

Each nominated work has been thoroughly assessed by the jury, which is made up of well-known literary specialists, taking into account its literary merit, originality, and effect. The greatest of Indian literature is reflected in the shortlisted works, which highlight the variety of voices and viewpoints that enhance our literary environment.

The vast literary environment of India is celebrated by the Crossword Book Awards 2024. The works that made the short list showcase the finest of Indian writing, from compelling stories to provocative observations. According to Nidhi Gupta, director of Crossword Bookshops, “Crossword is proud to carry on the tradition of honouring literary excellence and fostering a love of reading.”

The shortlisted books for this year’s Crossword Book Awards – Jury Awards 2024 have been announced across various categories.  The extensive list includes:

Fiction
The East Indian, Brinda Charry published by HarperCollins India
Quarterlife, Devika Rege published by HarperCollins India 
Chronicle of an Hour and a Half, Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari published by Westland Books
Tall Tales by a Small Dog, Omair Ahmad published by Speaking Tiger Books
Never Never Land, Namita Gokhale published by Speaking Tiger Books

Non-fiction

From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada, Sudha Bharadwaj, published by Juggernaut

The Day I Became a Runner: A Women’s History of India through the Lens of Sport, Sohini Chattopadhyay, published by HarperCollins India 

City on Fire: A Boyhood in Aligarh, Zeyad Masroor Khan, published by HarperCollins India 

Mother Cow, Mother India: A Multispecies Politics of Dairy in India, Yamini Narayanan, published by Navayana

Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink, Arati Kumar-Rao published by Pan Macmillan India

Business and management 

Accelerating India’s Development: A State-led Roadmap For Effective Governance, Karthik Muralidharan, published by Penguin Random House India

AI Rising: India’s Artificial Intelligence Growth Story, Leslie D’Monte and Jayanth N. Kolla, published by Jaico Publishing house 

Exprovement: Exponential Improvements Through Converging Parallels, Hersh Haladker and Raghunath Mashelkar, published by Penguin Random House India

Lilliput Land: How Small Is Driving India’s Mega Consumption Story, Rama Bijapurkar, published by Penguin Random House India

Mastering the Data Paradox: Key To Winning In The AI Age, Nitin Seth, published by Penguin Random House India

Children’s Books

A Children’s History of India in 100 Objects, Devika Cariapa, Illustrated by Priyanka Tampi, published by Puffin

Zen, Shabnam Minwalla published by Duckbill Books

The Case of the Vanishing Gods, Mallika Ravikumar, published by Talking Cub

Bipathu and a Very Big Dream, Anita Nair, published by Puffin

The Henna Start-Up: Andaleeb Wajid, published by Duckbill Books

Translations
Fruits of the Barren Tree, Lekhnath Chhetri, translated from the Nepali by Anurag Basnet, published by Penguin Random House India

Sakina’s Kiss, Vivek Shanbhag, translated from the Kannada by Srinath Perur, published by Penguin Random House India

Boy, Unloved, Damodar Mauzo, translated from the Konkani by Jerry Pinto, published by Speaking Tiger Books

I Named My Sister Silence, Manoj Rupda, translated from the Hindi by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar,  published by Eka-Westland Books

Maria, Just Maria, Sandhya Mary, translatetd from the Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil, published by HarperCollins India

The Crossword Book Awards 2024 promises to be a night of glitz, glamour, and literary brilliance, which will take place 8 December 2024.