Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival | Book Prize - Bangalore Literature Festival 2022
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Atta Galatta – Bangalore Literature Festival | Book Prize

Every year, Atta Galatta has the immense pleasure of being able to felicitate the best and brightest of the Indian writers’ community. In association with the Bangalore Literature Festival, a platform for voices from all over India and the globe, we have been striving to commemorate literary achievements with the Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize.

Instituted in 2015, the annual award are presented under 9 categories of Fiction (English), Non-Fiction (English), Popular Choice, Best Cover Design and expanded categories for Children’s Writing in 2022, Best Children’s Picture Book Story, Best Children’s Picture Book Illustrations, Best Children’s Book Fiction and Best Children’s Book Non-Fiction. An annual award is presented for Literary Achievement in Kannada to an 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

Fiction

Shortlist

Breaking Free Vaasanthi (Translated by N. Kalyan Raman) Harper Perennial
Qabar KR Meera (Translated by Nisha Susan) Eka / Westland Books
Winner The Immortal King Rao Vauhini Vara 4th Estate
The Wait and Other Stories Damodar Mauzo (Translated by Xavier Cota) Penguin Vintage
Tomb of Sand Geetanjali Shree (Translated by Daisy Rockwell) Penguin
Valli: A Novel Sheela Tomy (Translated by Jayasree Kalathil) Harper Perennial

Non-Fiction

Shortlist

Winner Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh : India’s Lonely Young Women and The Search for Intimacy and Independence Shrayana Bhattacharya Harper Collins
India, Bharat and Pakistan: The Constitutional Journey of a Sandwiched Civilization J. Sai Deepak Bloomsbury
Lords of the Deccan: Southern India from The Chalukyas and The Cholas Anirudh Kanisetti Juggernaut
The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor’s Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis Kafeel Khan Pan Macmillan
The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis Amitav Ghosh Penguin Allen Lane
Writer Rebel Soldier Lover: The Many Lives of Agyeya Akshaya Mukul Penguin Vintage

Children’s Fiction

Shortlist

Winner Maithili and the Minotaur Web of Woe CJ Salamander, Illustrated by Rajiv Eipe Penguin
Misfit Madhu Divya Anand Puffin
Pinkoo Shergill Pastry Chef Vibha Batra Scholastic
Savi and the Memory Keeper Bijal Vachharajani Hachette
The Coward and The Sword Jugal Hansraj Harper Collins
The Ghost of Malabar Soumya Ayer Harper Collins

Children’s Non-Fiction

Shortlist

Amma, Take me to The Taj Mahal Bhakti Mathur Puffin
Cadet No. 1 and Other Amazing Women in the Armed Forces Maya Chandrasekaran and Meera Naidu Harper Collins
India’s Freedom Story Ira Saxena and Nilima Sinha Harper Collins
Journey to the Edge of the Earth: A True Adventure Joeanna Rebello Fernandes and Cdr Abhilash Tomy, KC, NM(Retd) Penguin
Winner Naturalist Ruddy Rohan Chakravarty Penguin
Up the Mountains of India: A Fun, Fact-filled Trek Across the Country’s Major Ranges Mala Kumar Hachette

Picture Book - Story

Shortlist

Are Your Emotions Like Mine Chitwan Mittal and Shruti Hemani AdiDev Press
Winner Beauty is Missing Priya Kuriyan Pratham Books
I am so Much More that the Colour of my Skin Divya Thomas Harper Collins
Many Colours of Us Lavanya Kapahi Tulika
Paati’s Rasam Janaki Sabesh and Dhwani Sabesh Karadi Tales
The Boy Who Wore Bangles Riddhi Maniar Doda and Shruto Hemani Karadi Tales

Picture Book - Illustrations

Shortlist

A Full Circle Written and Illustrated by Namrita Bachchan Harper Design
Winner Dugga Written and Illustrated by Rajiv Eipe Pratham Books
My Upside Down World Ken Spillman, Illustrated by Silvana Giraldo Pickle Yolk
Maithili and the Minotaur: Web of Woe CJ Salamander, Illustrated by Rajiv Eipe Penguin
The Theatre of Ghosts Written and Illustrated by Pankaj Saikia Pratham Books
We are the Dancing Forest Raj Shekhar, Illustrated by Venkat Shyam Tulika

Popular Choice

Shortlist

To vote visit – agblfprize.com

Abhimanyu : Son of Arjuna Anuja Chandramouli Leadstart
Hope : Wisdom to Survive in a Hopeless World Devdutt Pattanaik Juggernaut
Winner Open Book : Not Quite a Memoir Kubbra Sait Harper Collins
The 7 Sins of Being a Mother Tahira Kashyap Khurrana Juggernaut
Unsung : Poems Arunoday Singh Penguin eBury

Cover Design

Shortlist

Adam S.Hareesh, Cover Design by Anubha Jain Penguin Vintage
Chronicles of the Lost Daughters Debarati Mukhopadhyay, Cover Design by DhakaYeah Harper Collins
Ladies Tailor : A Novel Priya Hajela, Cover Design by Giggling Monkey Studio Harper Collins
Tears of the Begum : Stories of Survivors of the Uprising of 1857 Khwaja Hasan Nizami, Cover Design by Reya Ahmed
The Living Mountain : A Fable for our Times Amitav Ghosh, Cover Design by Devangana Dash 4th Estate
Winner The Muslim Vanishes : A Play Saeed Naqvi, Cover design by Antra K

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.

Past Winners

Fiction

Alipura Gyan Chaturvedi (Translated by Salim Yusufji)

Non-Fiction

Born a Muslim: Some Truths About Islam in India Ghazala Wahab

Popular Choice

Unfinished: A Memoir Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Young Adult Book

Saira Zariwala is Afraid Shabnam Minwalla

Children’s Picture Book

The Girl Who Loved to Sing: Teejan Bai Lavanya Karthik

Cover Design

Shadow Craft: Visual Aesthetics of Black and White Hindi Cinema Kapil Gupta

Achievement in Kannada Literature

Girish Rao Hatwar

Fiction

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line Deepa Anappara Penguin Hamish Hamilton

Non Fiction

The Death Script: Dreams and Delusions in Naxal Country Ashutosh Bhardwaj 4th Estate - HarperCollins

Popular Choice

Made in India: A Memoir Milind Soman with Roopa Pai Penguin eBury

Literary Achievement in Kannada

Vaidehi

Best Cover Design

Rising Heat Cover Design by Ahlawat Gunjan Penguin Hamish Hamilton

Fiction

Blue Is Like Blue Vinod Kumar Shukla (Translated by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and Sara Rai) HarperCollins India

Non–Fiction

Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From Tony Joseph Juggernaut

Popular Choice

Life's Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose in Your Life Gaur Gopal Das Penguin Ananda

Literary Achievement in Kannada

Dr. H.S. Venkatesha Murthy

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

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