Valley of Words Book Awards announces winners across eight categories in Hindi and English languages

The winners receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and will speak at the Valley of Words festival in Dehradun on October 25 and 26.

The Valley of Words has announced the winners of its Book Awards. Prizes have been awarded in the categories of English Fiction, English Nonfiction, Hindi Fiction, Hindi Nonfiction, Hindi Translation, and Children’s and Young Adult Literature.

The winners receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and will speak at the Valley of Words festival in Dehradun on October 25 and 26.

Festival Director Sanjeev Chopra said about the winning books, “What distinguishes this year’s winners is the range of voices and the themes they take on – from questions of identity and social change to the reinterpretation of cultural memory. The personal is the political, as these works underscore. Together, they reflect the evolving landscape of Indian publishing and the appetite among readers for stories that are both rooted and contemporary.”

The winners

• English non-fiction: Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India, Karan Madhok, Aleph Book Company

• English fiction: Swallowing the Sun, Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, Aleph Book Company

• English translation: Lavanyadevi, Kusum Khemani, translated from the Hindi by Banibrata Mahanta, Orient BlackSwan

• Hindi nonfiction: Bidaai De Ma!, Sudhir Vidhyarthi, Rajpal Prakashan

• Hindi fiction: Suno Kabir, Soni Pandey, Publisher: Lokbharti Prakashan, Noida

• Hindi translation: Bahattar Meel, Ashok Vatkar, translated from the Marathi by Sulabha Kore, Radhakrishna Prakashan

• Young adult literature: Art is a Voice, Kripa, ArtsIntegrated

• Children’s literature: Cactus Wants a Hug, Neil Flory and Simon Yeo, Hachette India