SOURCE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS
JCB Prize for Literature announces 2022’s longlist of 10 ‘incredible’ books
"All the longlisted books have a common denominator -- a rich and varied story, and language that surprises and delights. By creating new and engrossing realities they took us back to when we were younger and just discovering the world," said Mita Kapur, JCB's literary director.
The longlist of the 2022 JCB Prize for Literature, selected by a jury comprising journalist and editor AS Panneerselvan, authors Janice Pariat, Rakhee Balaram, Amitabha Bagchi, and historian and academician Dr J Devika, was announced on Saturday.
Every year, publishers across India are asked to submit their finest work out of which the jury chooses the top 10 books that “excites a searching heart,” said Mita Kapur, JCB’s literary director.
“Books from 16 states in 8 languages were entered for #TheJCBPrize this year. After months of reading, and hours of discussion, the 2022 jury announce the longlist. The Shortlist will be announced in October,” The JCB Prize for Literature wrote in a tweet. Amidst titles in Bengali and Malayalam, titles in Urdu, Hindi, and Nepali have been featured in the longlist for the first time.
The longlist was chosen from a vast range of submissions by writers from sixteen states writing in eight languages including English, published between August 1, 2021, and July 31, 2022.
“All the longlisted books have a common denominator — a rich and varied story, and language that surprises and delights. By creating new and engrossing realities they took us back to when we were younger and just discovering the world,” said Kapur.
She further revealed that these 10 “incredible” books have “a courageous playfulness of seeking their way from between the shadows of the past and the realities of the present. They are books that make a deep impression with a powerful expression and singular energy.”
Five years and 50 books later, The JCB Prize for Literature presented this year’s longlist of 10 novels which are:
1. Crimson Spring: A Novel by Navtej Sarna, Aleph Book Company
2. Escaping the Land by Mamang Dai, Speaking Tiger
3. Imaan by Manoranjan Byapari, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha, Westland
4. Rohzin by Rahman Abbas, translated from Urdu by Sabika Abbas, Penguin
5. Song of the Soil by Chuden Kabimo Lepcha, translated from Nepali by Ajit Baral, Rachna Books
6. Spirit Nights by Easterine Kire, Simon & Schuster
7. The Odd Book of Baby Names by Anees Salim, Penguin
8. The Paradise of Food by Khalid Jawed, translated from Urdu by Baran Farooqi, Juggernaut
9. Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell, Penguin
10. Valli: A Novel by Sheela Tomy, translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil, HarperCollins
Launched in 2018, JCB Prize for Literature is considered to be India’s one of the most revered literary prizes and an esteemed recognition of Indian literature wherein a literary award, along with prize money of Rs 25 lakh, is presented to a notable work of fiction by an Indian author. Apart from the winner, the five shortlisted authors each receive Rs 1 lakh. If the winning work is a translation, the translator is awarded Rs 10 lakh in addition to the prize money, while a shortlisted work of translation fetches the translator Rs 50,000.