The 2010 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize - Call for submissions

The Shakti Bhatt Foundation announces
The 2010 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize

In its third year, the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize is a cash award of one lakh rupees. Entries in the following genres may be submitted: poetry, fiction (including graphic novels), creative non-fiction (travel writing, autobiography, biography and narrative journalism) and drama. A 3-member advisory board will shortlist 6 books published between June 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. This year, the board includes journalist Anil Nair, IFA programme executive Sanjay Iyer and poet Jeet Thayil. The shortlisted books will be sent to the 2010 panel of judges; they are playwright Mahesh Dattani, writer and surgeon Kalpana Swaminathan and novelist Ruchir Joshi. The winner will be announced in the second half of November and the prize will be presented in December. Last year's winner was Mridula Koshy for If It Is Sweet.

Authors from the subcontinent are eligible but books must be published in India. Publications must be in English or translated into English from an Indian language. Books that have been published elsewhere and have already won prizes are eligible, though less likely to win. Vanity press publications are ineligible.

The Shakti Bhatt Foundation is a non-profit trust. It wishes to reward first-time authors of all ages. For further information, mail shaktibhattprize AT gmail DOT com

The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2009 - Award Ceremony

14th December, 2009, British Council, New Delhi

Photos by Kavi Bhansali

The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2009 - Winner

Delhi-based Mridula Koshy’s remarkable collection of short stories If It is Sweet (Westland-Tranquebar) is the winner of the 2009 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. She receives Rs 1 lakh and a trophy which will be presented by author/television anchor Sagarika Ghosh in New Delhi on December 14, 2009 at the British Council.

The other shortlisted titles this year were:

Arzee the Dwarf, Chandrahas Choudhury (HarperCollins); Hotel at the End of the World, Parismita Singh (Penguin); Eunuch Park, Palash Krishna Mehrotra (Penguin); Baulsphere, Mimlu Sen (Random House), and Atlas of Impossible Longing, Anuradha Roy (Picador).

The 2009 panel of judges was novelist Rana Dasgupta, editor Mukund Padmanabhan and writer/film-maker Arshia Sattar. Last year's winner was Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif for A Case of Exploding Mangoes.

The Shakti Bhatt Foundation is a non-profit trust set up by the late writer/editor's family to keep her memory alive. It wishes to reward first-time authors of all ages.

The 2009 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize - Call for Nominations

The Shakti Bhatt Foundation invites nominations for the 2009 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.

Last year's winner was Pakistani novelist Mohammed Hanif’s A Case of Exploding Mangoes.

• Entries may be in any genre: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction (travel writing, autobiography, biography, and narrative journalism), and drama.
• All authors from the subcontinent are eligible but their books must be published in India.
• The books must be in English or translated into English from an Indian language.
• Books that have been published elsewhere and have already won prizes are eligible, though less likely to win.
• Vanity press publications are ineligible.

A 3-member advisory board will shortlist 6 books published between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. This year, the board includes writers Anjum Hasan, Zac O'Yeah and poet Jeet Thayil. The shortlisted books will be sent to the 2009 panel of judges: novelist Rana Dasgupta, editor Mukund Padmanabhan and Professor Meenakshi Mukherji.

The winner will be announced in the second half of November and the prize presentation will take place in December 2009. The winner will receive a cash award of Rs One Lakh and a trophy.

The Shakti Bhatt Foundation is a non-profit trust set up by the late writer/editor's family to keep her memory alive. It wishes to reward first-time authors of all ages.

For further information, contact shaktibhattprize@gmail.com

The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2008 - The Winner

Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif's A Case of Exploding Mangoes (Random House) was the winner of the inaugural Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2008. (The call for entries; the short list.)

MJ Akbar announced the winner at the British Council, New Delhi, on December 2, 2008. The announcement was followed by a reception (pictures below).

Reports: The Indian Express, DNA, The New Yorker

Anita Roy & Urvashi Butalia

Meenakshi Reddy & Rajni George

M J Akbar

Mohammed Hanif

Mohammed Hanif & MJ Akbar

Samit Basu, Meenakshi Reddy, Rajni George

Sarnath Bannerjee, Lesley Estevez, Mridula Susan Koshy

Sheela Bhatt & Neelam Gupta

Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize - Shortlist

Announcing the shortlist for the inaugural 2008 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.

The judges, William Dalrymple, Kamila Shamsie and Samit Basu, will pick a winner from seven books that made it to the shortlist this year. In Search of a Future: The Story of Kashmir by David Devadas. Kari by Amruta Patil. A Reluctant Survivor by Sridala Swami. The Music Room by Namita Devidayal. White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif. Smoke and Mirrors, An Experience of China by Pallavi Aiyar.

The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize is the only Indian book prize that honours a first book. By awarding a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh, the prize aims to bring attention to deserving books of any genre by first-time authors. As a measure of the timeliness of this prize, there were more than two dozen entries this year, proof of the depth and quality of new writing in the country.