Crossword Book Award
Indian literary award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Crossword Book Awards is an Indian literary award presented annually by Crossword Bookstores. The award recognises the finest of Indian writing in English as selected by a jury[1] and readers[2], and promotes Indian authors and their books. It is among the longest-running literary awards in India.
Awarded forIndian novels written by Indian authors
Sponsored byHutch Essar (2004–2007)
Vodafone (2008–2010)
The Economist (2011–2013)
Raymond Group (2014–present)
Vodafone (2008–2010)
The Economist (2011–2013)
Raymond Group (2014–present)
CountryIndia
Presented byCrossword Bookstores
| Crossword Book Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Indian novels written by Indian authors |
| Sponsored by | Hutch Essar (2004–2007) Vodafone (2008–2010) The Economist (2011–2013) Raymond Group (2014–present) |
| Country | India |
| Presented by | Crossword Bookstores |
| Hosted by | Crossword Bookstores |
| First award | 1998 |
| Website | www |
Categories
The Crossword Book Awards has two categories:[3]
Jury Awards[4]
The Jury Awards are decided by panels with three jurors per category. The categories include:[2]
- Fiction
- Non-fiction
- Business and management
- Translations
- Children's books
Popular Choice Awards
The Popular Choice Awards are determined through voting by readers across Crossword Bookstore outlets and online platforms. Categories include:[2]
- Fiction
- Non-fiction
- Children's books
- Business and management
- Mind, body and spirit
History and administration
Inception and Evolution
The award was instituted in 1998 by Crossword Bookstores to encourage and promote Indian writing. According to the Crossword Bookstore website:
- "While several Indian writers have won awards abroad, we had observed that there was no equivalent award in India. We therefore decided to take on the role of encouraging and promoting good Indian writing and instituted the Book Awards, in 1998. It is the only Indian award that not only recognizes and rewards good writing but also actively promotes the authors and their books."[5]
Over the years, the awards have been presented under different sponsor-backed titles, including the Crossword Book Award (1998–2003), the Hutch Crossword Book Award (2004–2007), the Vodafone Crossword Book Award (2008–2010), the Economist Crossword Book Award (2011–2013), the Raymond & Crossword Book Award (2014–2018), and the Crossword Book Awards (2024–present).
Nomination and Selection Process
For the Jury Awards, publishers submit nominations during an annual entry period, typically held between March and April. The submitted titles are reviewed to ensure they meet the award’s eligibility requirements before being forwarded to the jury for evaluation. The panel is typically composed of authors, literary critics, journalists, editors, and other experts associated with the respective categories[6]. The jury, selects a longlist of ten titles in each category, which is subsequently narrowed to a shortlist of five titles. The final winners are announced at an awards ceremony typically held in December in Mumbai.
For the Popular Choice Awards, the selection process begins later in the year. In this category, five books in each of five categories—Fiction, Non-fiction, Children’s books, Business and Management, and Mind, Body & Spirit—are identified by Crossword based on annual sales data and rankings from Crossword stores, verified by independent auditors. Readers are then invited to vote online, and the winners in each category are determined through this public voting process.[7]
Previous winners.[8]
| Year | Category | Author | Title | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | English Fiction | I. Allan Sealy | The Everest Hotel | |
| 1999 | English Fiction | Vikram Seth | An Equal Music | |
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | M. Mukundan | On the Banks of the Mayyazhi | ||
| 2000 | English Fiction | Jamyang Norbu | The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes | |
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Bama / Translator: Lakshmi Holmström | Karukku | ||
| 2004 | English Fiction | Amitav Ghosh | The Hungry Tide | |
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Chandrasekhar Rath / Translator: Jatindra Kumar Nayak | Astride the Wheel (Yantrarudha) | ||
| 2005 | English Fiction | Salman Rushdie | Shalimar the Clown | |
| English Non Fiction | Suketu Mehta | Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found | ||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Krishna Sobti | The Heart Has Its Reasons | ||
| Popular Award | Rahul Bhattacharya | Pundits From Pakistan | ||
| 2006 | English Fiction | Vikram Chandra | Sacred Games | |
| English Non Fiction | Vikram Seth | Two Lives | ||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Ambai (C. S. Lakshmi) / Translator: Lakshmi Holmström | In a Forest, a Deer | [9] | |
| M. Mukundan / Translator: Gita Krishnankutty | Kesavan's Lamentations | |||
| Popular Award | Kiran Desai | The Inheritance of Loss | ||
| 2007 | English Fiction | Usha K. R. | A Girl and a River | |
| English Non Fiction | William Dalrymple | The Last Mughal | ||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Sankar / Translator: Arunava Sinha | Chowringhee | ||
| Anand / Translated from Malayalam by Gita Krishnankutty | Govardhan's Travels | |||
| Popular Award | Namita Devidayal | The Music Room | ||
| 2008 | English Fiction | Amitav Ghosh | Sea of Poppies | [10] |
| Neel Mukherjee | Past Continuous | |||
| English Non Fiction | Basharat Peer | Curfewed Night | ||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Manohar Shyam Joshi / Translator: Ira Pande | T’TA Professor | ||
| Popular Award | Pallavi Aiyar | Smoke & Mirrors | ||
| 2009 | English Fiction | Kalpana Swaminathan | Venus Crossing: Twelve Stories of Transit | [11] |
| English Non Fiction | Rajni Bakshi | Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom | ||
| Sunanda K. Datta-Ray | Looking East to Look West: Lee Kuan Yew's Mission India | |||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Sarah Joseph / Translator: Valson Thampu | Othappu: The Scent of the Other Side | ||
| Popular Award | Rajni Bakshi | Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom | ||
| Children's Literature | Siddhartha Sarma | The Grasshopper's Run | ||
| 2010 | English Fiction | Omair Ahmad | Jimmy the Terrorist | [12][13] |
| Anjali Joseph | Saraswati Park | [14] | ||
| English Non Fiction | VS Ramachandran | The Tell-Tale Brain | ||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | NS Madhavan / Translator: Rajesh Rajamohan | Litanies of Dutch Battery | ||
| Popular Award | Ashwin Sanghi | Chanakya's Chant | ||
| Children's Literature | Ranjit Lal | Faces in the Water | ||
| 2011 | English Non Fiction | Anuradha Roy | The Folded Earth | [15][16][17] |
| Aman Sethi | A Free Man | [18] | ||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Anita Agnihotri / Translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha | 17 | ||
| Narayan / Translated from Malayalam by Catherine Thankamma | The Araya Women | [19] | ||
| Popular Award | Ravi Subramanian | The Incredible Banker | ||
| Children's Literature | No Award | |||
| 2013 | English Fiction | Jerry Pinto | Em and the Big Hoom | [20][21][22] |
| Janice Pariat | Boats on Land | |||
| English Non Fiction | Ananya Vajpeyi | Righteous Republic | ||
| Pankaj Mishra | From The Ruins Of Empire | |||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Ismat Chugtai / Translated by M Asaduddin | A Life In Words | ||
| Popular Award | Ravi Subramanian | The Bankster | [23] | |
| Children's Literature | Payal Kapadia | Wisha Wozzariter | ||
| Uma Krishnaswami | Book Uncle and Me | |||
| 2015 | English Fiction | Anees Salim | The Blind Lady’s Descendants | [24][25] |
| English Non Fiction | Samanth Subramanian | This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War | ||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Sundara Ramaswamy / Translated from Tamil by Lakshmi Holmstrom | Children, Women, Men | ||
| Popular Award | Ravi Subramanian | Bankerupt | ||
| Kotak Junior Children's Literature | Shals Mahajan | Timmi in Tangles | ||
| 2016 | English Fiction | Amitav Ghosh | Flood of Fire | [26] |
| English Non Fiction | Akshaya Mukul | Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India | ||
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Shamsur Rahman Faruqi | The Sun That Rose From the Earth | ||
| Popular Award | Amish Tripathi | Scion of Ikshvaku | ||
| Kotak Junior Children's Literature | Ranjit Lal | Nana was a Nutcase | ||
| 2017 | Indian Fiction: Jury | Sujit Saraf | Harilal and Sons | [27][28] |
| Indian Non Fiction: Jury | Josy Joseph | A Feast of Vultures: The Hidden Business of Democracy in India | [29] | |
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Subhash Chandran / Translated from Malayalam by Fathima EV | A Preface to Man | ||
| Children's Literature: Jury | Anita Nair | Muezza and Baby Jaan | ||
| Indian Fiction: Popular | Durjoy Datta | Our Impossible Love | ||
| Indian Non Fiction: Popular | Sadhguru | Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy | ||
| Children's Literature: Popular | Archita Mishra | The Storm Bringer | ||
| Business & Management: Popular | Shantanu Guha Ray | The Target | ||
| Biography: Popular | Karan Johar and Poonam Saxena | An Unsuitable Boy | [30] | |
| Health & Fitness | Isha Foundation | A Taste of Well-Being | ||
| 2018 | Indian Fiction: Jury | Prayaag Akbar | Leila | [31] |
| Indian Non Fiction: Jury | Snigdha Poonam | Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing The World | [32] | |
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | Benyamin / Translated from Malayalam by Shahnaz Habib | Jasmine Days | ||
| Children's Literature: Jury | Nandhika Nambi | Unbroken | ||
| Indian Fiction: Popular | Durjoy Datta | The Boy Who Loved | ||
| Indian Non Fiction: Popular | Sudha Murthy | Three Thousand Stitches | ||
| Children's Literature: Popular | Ruskin Bond | Looking For The Rainbow | ||
| Business & Management: Popular | Chandramouli Venkatesan | Catalyst | ||
| Biography: Popular | Soha Ali Khan | The Perils of Being Moderately Famous | ||
| Health & Fitness | Sanjeev Kapoor, Dr. Sarita Daware | You’ve Lost Weight : The Easy Guide To Receiving This Compliment Every Day | ||
| Lifetime Achievement Award | Shashi Tharoor | [33] | ||
| 2019 | Indian Fiction: Jury | Madhuri Vijay | The Far Field | [34] |
| Indian Non Fiction: Jury | Shanta Gokhale | One Foot on the Ground: A Life Told Through the Body | [34] | |
| Indian Language Fiction Translation | N. Prabhakaran, tr. by Jayasree Kalathil | Diary of a Malayali Madman | [34] | |
| Children's Literature: Jury | Richa Jha and illustrated by Sumanta Dey | Machher Jhol: Fish Curry | [34] | |
| Indian Fiction: Popular | Twinkle Khanna | Pyjamas are Forgiving | [34] | |
| Indian Non Fiction: Popular | Gaur Gopal Das | Life's Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose | [34] | |
| Children's Literature: Popular | Sudha Murty | The Upside-Down King: Unusual Tales about Rama and Krishna | [34] | |
| Business & Management: Popular | Anju Sharma | Corporate Monk, A Journey From Wealth To Wisdom | [34] | |
| Biography: Popular | Krishna Trilok | Notes of a Dream | [34] | |
| Health & Fitness | Dr. Jaishree Sharad | Skin Rules: Your 6-week Plan to Radiant Skin | [34] | |
| 2024[35] | Jury Fiction | Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari | Chronicle of an Hour and a Half | [35] |
| Jury Non Fiction | Zeyad Masroor Khan | City on Fire | ||
| Jury Business & Management | Karthik Muralidharan | Accelerating India's Development: A State-led Roadmap For Effective Governance | ||
| Jury Translations | Sandhya Mary, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil | Maria, Just Maria | ||
| Jury Children's Books | Shabnam Minwalla | Zen | ||
| Jury Children's Books | Andaleeb Wajid | The Henna Start-Up | ||
| Popular Fiction | Twinkle Khanna | Welcome to Paradise | ||
| Popular Non Fiction | Lt Gen. K.J.S. 'Tiny' Dhillon (Retd) | Kitne Ghazi Aaye Kitne Ghazi Gaye: My Life Story | ||
| Popular Business & Management | Radhakrishnan Pillai | Chanakya’s 100 Best Sutras: Ageless Wisdom for Unlocking Your Potential and Achieving Your Goals | ||
| Popular Children's Books | Ruskin Bond, Illustrated by David Yambem | All-time Favourite Nature Stories | ||
| Popular Translations | Charu Nivedita, Translated from the Tamil by Nandini Krishnan | Conversations with Aurangzeb | ||
| Mind, Body, & Spirit | Gaur Gopal Das | Energize Your Mind: Learn the Art of Mastering Your Thoughts, Feelings and Emotions | ||
| Lifetime Achievement Award | Amitav Ghosh | |||
| 2025 | Jury Fiction | Ruchir Joshi | Great Eastern Hotel | [36] |
| Jury Non Fiction | Manu S. Pillai | Gods, Guns and Missionaries | [36] | |
| Jury Business & Management | Duvvuri Subbarao | Just a Mercenary? | [37] | |
| Jury Translations | Manoj Kuroor translated from the Malayalam by J. Devika | The Day the Earth Bloomed | [37] | |
| Jury Children's Books | Varsha Seshan, Illustrated by Denise Antao | The Wall Friends Club | [37] | |
| Popular Fiction | Prajakta Koli | Too Good to Be True | [36] | |
| Popular Non Fiction | Mohar Basu | Shah Rukh Khan | [37] | |
| Popular Business & Management | Thomas Mathew | Ratan Tata | [37] | |
| Popular Children's Books | Sudha Murty | Grandpa’s Bag of Stories | [36] | |
| Mind, Body, & Spirit | Sadhguru | Enlightenment | [38] | |
| Lifetime Achievement Award[39] | Shanta Gokhale | [40][39] | ||