Vodafone-Crossword book award nominees announced

The shortlist for fiction was not announced as the jury – whose composition is traditionally kept secret till the night of the awards ceremony – was yet to finalise the list.

Out of a total 210 entries, 16 books have been shortlisted for the Vodafone-Crossword Book Award 2009, in the categories of Indian language fiction translation, English non- fiction and children category. The shortlist nominations were announced on Friday.

'The 16 shortlists of nominees were selected by an eminent panel of judges from the long list of 210 valid entries submitted by publisher in the categories of Indian language fiction translation, English non-fiction and children,' Chandrashekhar Navalkar, CEO of Crossword Book stores, said.

Some of the books shortlisted in the non-fiction category are 'Violence, Martyrdom and Partition' by Nonica Datta and 'The Difficulty of Being Good - On the Subtle Art of Dharma' by Gurucharan Das.The shortlist in the translation category includes the 'The Hour Before Dawn' by Bhabendra Nath Saikia (translated by Maitreyi S.C) and 'My Kind of Girl' by Buddhhadeva Bose (translated by Arunava Sinha).

The shortlists in the children's category include two books of Siddhartha Sharma named '103 Journeys, Voyages, Trips and Stuff' and 'The Grasshoppers Run'.

'The award for children category has been added from this year. By adding this category we are trying to encourage writing across genres. We will continue in our endeavour to recognise and appreciate outstanding contribution to the literary world year by year,' Navalkar said.

Writers like Amitav Ghosh, Salman Rushdie, and Vikram Seth are some of the past winners of Vodafone Crossword book award. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh, a trophy and a citation.

The shortlist for fiction was not announced as the jury – whose composition is traditionally kept secret till the night of the awards ceremony – was yet to finalise the list. The shortlist will be announced on July 9.

The shortlists:

Non-fiction

Violence, Martyrdom and Partition by Nonica Datta

Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom by Rajni Bakshi

The Difficulty of being good – On The Subtle Art of Dharma by Gurcharan Das

Looking East To Look West - Lee Kuan Yew’s Mission India by Sunanda K. Datta- Ray

Baulsphere by Mimlu Sen

The Bakkarwals of Jammu & Kashmir by Anita Sharma

Bollywood In Posters by S M M Ausaja

Translation

Othappu by Sarah Joseph, translated by Valson Thampu

My Kind of Girl by Buddhadeva Bose, translated by Arunava Sinha