Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival | Book Prize - Bangalore Literature Festival 2019

Publishers submitted over 80 books for consideration under the category of Fiction (English), 120 books for consideration under the category of Non-Fiction (English) and 60 books for Popular Choice (English). A special reader based jury put together the long list from these submissions and another jury comprised of writers will announce the shortlist. The Best Illustrated Book for Adults award is a new category instituted in 2019 in association with Bodhitree.

For the Literary Achievement Award in Kannada, the jury selects an author who has made a significant contribution to Kannada language and literature in form, function and flavour.

The final jury for the year is headed by poet Arundhathi Subramaniam and editor Reena Puri.

Fiction

Longlist

A Respectable Woman Easterine Kire Zubaan
Bhaunri: A Novel Anukrti Upadhyay HarperCollins India
Winner Blue Is Like Blue: Stories Vinod Kumar Shukla (Translated by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and Sara Rai) HarperCollins India
Clone Priya Sarukkai Chabria Zubaan
Heat Poomani (Translated by N Kalyan Raman) Juggernaut
Indira Bai: The Triumph of Truth and Virtue Gulvadi Venkata Rao (Translated by Vanamala Viswanatha and Shivarama Padikkal) Oxford University Press
Looking for Miss Sargam: Stories of Music and Misadventure Shubha Mudgal Speaking Tiger
One Hell of a Lover Unni R (Translated by J. Devika) Westland
Pulayathara Paul Chirakkarode (Translated by Catherine Thankamma) Oxford University Press
The Blue Lotus: Myths and Folktales of India Meena Arora Nayak Aleph
The Forest of Enchantments Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni HarperCollins India
The Radiance of a Thousand Suns Manreet Sodhi Someshwar HarperCollins India
The Scent Of God Saikat Majumdar Simon & Schuster India

Non-Fiction

Longlist

A Stranger Truth: Lessons in Love, Leadership and Courage from India's Sex Workers Ashok Alexander Juggernaut
Being Reshma: The Extraordinary Story of an Acid-Attack Survivor Who Took the World by Storm Reshma Qureshi (with Tania Singh) Pan Macmillan India
Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From Tony Joseph Juggernaut
Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World Ramachandra Guha Penguin
Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome Venki Ramakrishnan HarperCollins India
Listen to Me Shashi Deshpande Westland
One Foot on the Ground: A Life Told Through the Body Shanta Gokhale Speaking Tiger
Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past, 1883–1924 Vikram Sampath Penguin
The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan Namita Devidayal Westland
Tamil Characters: Personalities, Politics, Culture A. R. Venkatachalapathy Pan Macmillan India
The Extraordinary Life and Death of Sunanda Pushkar Sunanda Mehta Pan Macmillan India
The Twice-born: Life and Death on the Ganges Aatish Taseer HarperCollins India

Popular Choice

To vote visit – agblfprize.com

Close to the Bone Lisa Ray HarperCollins India
Healed: How Cancer Gave Me a New Life Manisha Koirala Penguin
Life's Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose in Your Life Gaur Gopal Das Penguin Ananda
Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta Amish Tripathi Westland
The Rule Breakers Preeti Shenoy Westland

Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize

Atta Galatta, in association with the Bangalore Literature Festival commemorates literary achievements with the Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize.

Instituted in 2015, the annual awards are presented under the categories of Fiction (In English) , Non-Fiction (In English) , Popular Choice and a new category of Best Illustrated Book for Adults (instituted in 2019 in association with Bodhitree) based on selection by a jury led by eminent literary personalities. The annual awards are also presented for Literary Achievement in Kannada to one author, celebrating their body of work and contribution to the language.

The Atta Galatta – Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize is probably the only major literary prize that considers translations, short-story anthologies and self-published works

Winners take home an original trophy – Thought Beyond Words.

Trophy - Thought Beyond Words

Thought Beyond Words aims to showcase how creative insights precede their translation into language.

The sculpture depicts the mind as a tree and thoughts as birds. Birds come and go to the branches of the tree. Some fleetingly, some with more persistence. Some birds will take up residence in the tree, build a nest in its branches and giving birth to more thoughts.

The sculpture was designed by Shri. T.S Ramani Sankar, the celebrated architect and executed by Sampath Appasamy of Artistick’s Art Forum.

Jury

Past Winners

Fiction

No Presents Please Jayant Kaikini (Translated by Tejaswini Niranjana) Harper Collins

Fiction

When I Hid my Caste Baburao Bagul (Translated by Jerry Pinto) Speaking Tiger

Non-Fiction

Adi Shankaracharya, Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker Pavan K Varma Tranquebar

Popular Choice

Keepers of The Kalachakra Ashwin Sanghi Westland

Literary Achievement in Kannada

Jayant Kaikini

Fiction

The Small Town Sea Anees Salim Penguin Random House

Non-Fiction

Lone Fox Dancing - My Autobiography Ruskin Bond Speaking Tiger

Popular Choice

The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad Twinkle Khanna Juggernaut

Literary Achievement in Kannada

Bolwar Mahammad Kunhi

Fiction

Pyre Perumal Murugan Penguin Random House

Non-Fiction

Half-Lion Vinay Sitapati Penguin Random House

Literary Achievement in Kannada

K.V Tirumalesh

Fiction

The Way Things Were Aatish Taseer Picador

Non-Fiction

Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India Akshaya Mukul Harper Collins India

Literary Achievement in Kannada

Prathibha Nandakumar