24 December, 2009

The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2009 - Award Ceremony

14th December, 2009, British Council, New Delhi

Photos by Kavi Bhansali










































































07 December, 2009

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.

17 July, 2009

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

27 January, 2009

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
Anita Roy & Urvashi Butalia

Meenakshi Reddy & Rajni George
Meenakshi Reddy & Rajni George

M J Akbar
M J Akbar

Mohammed Hanif
Mohammed Hanif

Mohammed Hanif & MJ Akbar
Mohammed Hanif & MJ Akbar

Samit Basu, Meenakshi Reddy, Rajni George
Samit Basu, Meenakshi Reddy, Rajni George

Sarnath Bannerjee, Lesley Estevez, Mridula Susan Koshy
Sarnath Bannerjee, Lesley Estevez, Mridula Susan Koshy

Sheela Bhatt & Neelam Gupta
Sheela Bhatt & Neelam Gupta