Perumal Murugan and Raj Kamal Jha among the nominees as over 1,100 entries highlight India’s literary talent.
The Banaras Literature Festival, founded in 2023, continues to celebrate the diversity and richness of Indian literature. Hosted in the cultural city of Varanasi, the festival has become a vital platform for writers, poets, translators, and readers to engage in meaningful dialogue.
A key highlight of the event is the Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards, which recognize excellence in Indian literature. For the 2025 edition, the longlist was recently unveiled, showcasing an impressive array of talent across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and translations. With over 1,100 nominations received, the longlist underscores the festival’s dedication to honoring literary brilliance.
Award Categories and Highlights
The longlist includes nominees for several prestigious awards, such as the Rabindranath Tagore Award for Translation, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award for Non-Fiction, Ruskin Bond Award for Fiction, and Kabir Award for Poetry.
Rabindranath Tagore Award for Translation
This category celebrates the art of bridging linguistic gaps through translation. Notable nominees include Fire Bird by Perumal Murugan, translated from Tamil by Janani Kannan, and The Homeland’s an Ocean by Mir Taqi Mir, translated from Urdu by Ranjit Hoskote.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award for Non-Fiction
In non-fiction, compelling works such as Neerja Chowdhury’s How Prime Ministers Decide and Siddharth Kapila’s Tripping Down the Ganga: A Son’s Exploration of Faith have garnered attention for their insightful perspectives.
Ruskin Bond Award for Fiction
Fiction enthusiasts can look forward to works like The Patient in Bed Number 12 by Raj Kamal Jha and Like Being Alive Twice by Dharini Bhaskar, both recognized for their vivid storytelling.
Kabir Award for Poetry
The poetry category features lyrical collections such as Malashri Lal’s Mandalas of Time and Akhil Katyal’s The Last Time I Saw You, showcasing the beauty and depth of Indian poetry.
Organizers’ Remarks
In a press release, Deepak Madhok, President of the Banaras Lit Fest, stated, “We are proud to present the longlist for the Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards 2025, celebrating the diversity of Indian literature across languages.” Secretary Brijesh Singh highlighted the extensive nomination process, saying, “With over 1,100 entries from prominent publishers and individual submissions, our esteemed juries have undertaken the monumental task of selecting this magnificent list. These works bring fresh perspectives to the literary world.”
Upcoming Events
The shortlist for the awards will be announced on February 9, 2025, while the winners will be revealed at the festival’s curtain-raiser event on February 23, 2025, at PHDCCI House, New Delhi. Each winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 51,000, along with a certificate and a trophy, during the festival.
The Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards continue to shine a spotlight on India’s literary talent, celebrating the power of stories, ideas, and poetic expression across the nation’s linguistic and cultural spectrum.
