Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) Book Awards 2020-21 announced

New Delhi:  Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) announced KLF Book Awards 2020-21 in various categories — Non-fiction Book, Fiction book, Poetry Book , Hindi Book, Book in Translation , Bhasa  First Book, Business Book, Strategic Affairs Book , Environmental Book , Biography/Autobiography Book , Children Book, Sports Book, Life Style and Emerging Trend Books & others. The books were selected from books submitted by publishers all across the categories. The winner will be felicitated and awarded during the annual Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) which is scheduled to be held on December 10,11,12, 2021 at Bhubaneswar.

 

Literature is not just the reflection of the broader society and a messenger for a better future. It is also about a deep catharsis for the human soul. Covid-19 showed our vulnerability, helplessness and at the same time solidarity to fight it together. Time did not stop nor did the lived human experience. To celebrate this spirit of life KLF 2021 is here to engage with thought provoking ideas and the resilient human spirit. Apart from several dedicated sessions on contemporary debates and discourses in the public sphere, the newly launched KLF Book Awards will add significant value to spread ideas while at the same time intends to redefine and contribute to the  Literary Culture of India and the world.

 

Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) is one of the most coveted international literary festivals annually held at Bhubaneswar of Odisha, an eastern part of India. Besides the annual program under the aegis of KLF, it has three other popular festivals in its fold: Mystic Kalinga Festival, Kandhamal Literary Festival, Maithili Literary Festival. Annual Kalinga Literary Festival and Mystic Kalinga Festival celebrates the creative spirit of India and commemorates the literary diversity it offers, bringing it in conversation with the best minds in the world of literature within and outside of Odisha and India. Authors, academics, policymakers, literary cultural, political and social activists, lawmakers, government officials, corporate leaders, spiritual thinkers, students and people from all walks of life immerse in the vibrant atmosphere of the festival and exchange opinions on their favourite authors and works. Kandhamal Literary Festival is a unique initiative from KLF for mainstreaming tribal literature—and thus expanding its reach and fame across the world. It is well-celebrated for keeping a democratic feature never seen earlier with any other literary festivals, at the grassroot, it is making desirable changes through positive creative interventions.

 

As the world gripped through the unprecedented crisis with an outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the most severe operational disruptions made it impossible to organise the literary festival physically. In such a testing phase, KLF started a virtual talk series “Bhava Samvad”. KLF Bhava Samvad through about 300-sessions so far, has hosted the most illustrious writers, policymakers, socio-cultural influencers and best creative minds to keep the culture of idea-exchanges fostering. As widely recognised and reported, KLF Bhava Samvad is undoubtedly the most impactful and engaging virtual literary idea platform in India.

About KLF Book Awards

 

Over the years, KLF has emerged as an Annual Flagship Program in the literary-cultural calendar of India with an unwavering focus to rekindle the bearing with literature and foster the culture of reading and writing, overlooking any artificially created hurdles. It offers a democratic international platform with a global appeal and bridges the gap between literature in English and other Indian languages, supremely rich with their literatures. KLF Book Awards, established by KLF in 2021 opens up the opportunities to identify, recognise, acknowledge, encourage and honour the literary talents across genres, for both established and new writers. The objective has been to shape the future literary icons. During the KLF Annual Program at Bhubaneswar (December 10-12, 2021), KLF Book Awards will be conferred based on the recommendations by an independent Award Jury.

 

How are these Awards Different and Unique?

 

In the literary field too, a mark of excellence must be duly acknowledged and awarded so as to encourage great literary tradition and inspire the culture of literary contributions. Many institutions in India have set up several awards but KLF Book Awards will change the literary landscape by forming different layers of selection under an independent and illustrious Awards Jury to choose the best contributing literary figures. Essentially, KLF Book Awards will be conferred on those people and their works, which have made seminal contributions to their chosen fields and have impacted the society at large through literature.

 

“KLF Book Awards jury members have chosen the best thought provoking contributions across different categories published during 2020-21. The objective is to contribute to debates and discourses in the national and global public sphere and encourage more thoughtful, reflective, unique and inspiring contributions. There will be dedicated sessions on these books by the authors and erudite reviewers to enrich the intellectual discussion at Kalinga Literary Festival,” said Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Founder and Director of Kalinga Literary Festival.

 

 

KLF Book Awards: Categories & Selected Titles for the year 2020-21

KLF Fiction Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (5):

 

1. Jahnavi Baruah’s “Undertow”, Penguin Random House India (2020)
2. Namita Gokhale and Malashri Lal’s “Betrayed by Hope: A Play on the Life of Michael Madhusudan Dutt”, HarperCollins India (2020)

• Tarana Husain Khan’s “The Begum and the Dastan”, Tranquebar, Westland (2021)

1. Ashwani Sanghi’s “The Vault of Vishnu”, Westland (2020)
2. Ashok Kaul’s “Undercover in Bandipore”, Vitasta Publishing Pvt Ltd (2020)

KLF Non-fiction Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (7):

 

1. Sandeep Bamzai’s “Princestan: How Nehru, Patel and Mountbatten Made India”, Rupa Publications (2020)
2. Shashi Tharoor & Samir Saran’s “The New World Disorder”, Aleph Book Company (2020)

• Vinay Sitapati’s “Jugalbandi: The BJP Before Modi”, Penguin Viking-Penguin Random House India (2020)

1. Pavan K Varma’s “The Great Hindu Civilisation: Achievement, Neglect, Bias and the Way Forward”, Westland (2021)
2. T M Krishna’s “A Brief History of Mrdangam Makers”, Context, Westland (2020)
3. Ashutosh Bhardwaj’s “The Death Script”, HarperCollins India (2020)

• Prem Prakash’s “Reporting India”, Ebury Press, Penguin Random House India (2020)

 

KLF Poetry Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (5):

 

1. Gulzar’s “A Poem a Day”, HarperCollins India (2020)
2. Abhay K’s “Kalidasa: Meghduta-The Cloud Messenger” & “Kalidasa: Ritusamhara-The Six Seasons” (Jointly), Bloomsbury (2021)

• Greta Rana’s “From Castleford to Kathmandu”, Vajra Books (2021)

1. Basant Chaudhary’s “Anek Pal aaur Mai”, Vani Prakashan (2021)

KLF Hindi Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (5):

 

1. Neelakshi Singh’s “Khela”, Setu Prakashan (2021)
2. Alka Saraogi’s “Kulbhooshan Ka Naam Darj Kijiye”, Vani Prakashan (2020)

• Mamta Kalia’s “Ravi Katha: Andaaz-E-Bayan Urf Ravi Katha”, Vani Prakashan (2020)

1. Praveen Kumar Jha’s “Wah Ustad”, Rajpal & Sons (2020)
2. Shirish Khare’s “Ek Desh Barah Duniya”, Rajpal & Sons (2021)

KLF Book in Translation of the Year Award 2020-21 (1):

 

1. Perumal Murugan’s “Estuary”-Translated by Nandini Krishnan, Eka, Westland (2020)

KLF Bhasa Award 2020-21 (1):

 

1. Manoranjan Byapari’s “The Runaway Boy”, Eka, Westland (2020)

KLF Debut Book Award 2020-21 (1):

 

1. Sonu Sood & Meena Iyer’s “I am no Messiah”, Penguin eBury Press (2020)

KLF Business Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (3):

 

1. R C Bhargava’s “Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India”, HarperCollins India (2020)
2. Urjit Patel’s “Overdraft”, HarperCollins India (2020)

• Tamal Bandyopadhyay’s “Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy”, Roli Books (2020)

KLF Diplomacy/Strategic Affairs Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (3):

 

1. S Jaishankar’s “The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World”, HarperCollins India (2020)
2. Zorawar Daulet Singh’s “Powershift: India-China Relations in a Multipolar World”, Pan Macmillan (2020)

• Subramanian Swamy’s “Himalayan Challenge: India, China and the Quest for Peace”, Rupa Publications (2020)

KLF Environmental Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (2):

 

1. Shekhar Pathak’s “Hari Bhari Ummid”, Vani Prakashan (2020)/ The Chipko Movement: A People’s History, Permanent Black (2020)
2. Amitav Ghosh’s “Jungle Nama”, Fourth Estate India-HarperCollins India, (2021)

KLF Women/Dalit/Tribal/Minorities Literature Award 2020-21 (5):

 

1. Gopinath Mohanty’s “Harijan: A Novel”-Translated by Bikram Das, Aleph Book Company (2021)
2. Sudarshan Ramabadran and Guru Prakash Paswan’s “Makers of Modern Dalit History”, Penguin Random House India (2021)

• A Plate of White Marble (Shwet Patharer Thala) by Bani Basu (Translated by Nandini Guha), Niyogi Books (2020)

1. Pradeep Srivastav’s “Ramvilas Paswan: Sankalp, Sahas aaur Sangharsh”, Penguin Random House India (2020)
2. Shafey Kidwai’s “Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Reason, Religion and Nation”, Routledge (2021)

KLF Biography/Autobiography Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (5):

 

1. Tenzin Geyche Tethong’s “His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Illustrated Biography”, Roli Books (2020)
2. Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s “Restless as Mercury: My Life as a Young Man Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi”, Aleph Book Company (2021)

• Yatindra Mishra’s “Akhtari: The Life and Music of Begum Akhtar”, HarperCollins India (2021)

1. Rasheed Kidwai’s “Bharat Ke Pradhan Mantri”, Rajkamal Prakashan (2021)
2. John Zubrzycki’s The House of Jaipur: The Inside Story of India’s Most Glamorous Royal Family, Juggernaut (2020)

KLF Children Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (2):

 

1. Ruskin Bond’s “Miracle at Happy Bazaar: My Best Stories for Children”, Aleph Book Company (2020)
2. Sudha Murthy’s “Grandparents’ Bag of Stories”, Puffin, Penguin Random House India (2020)

KLF Sports Book of the Year Award 2020-21 (1):

 

1. Ramachandra Guha’s “The Commonwealth of Cricket”, HarperCollins India (2020)

KLF Lifestyle & Emerging Trend Book Award 2020-21(1):

 

1. Rujuta Diwekar’s “Eating in the Age of Dieting”, Westland (2020)

 

 

 

About Kalinga Literary Festival

 

Annual Kalinga Literary Festival celebrate the creative spirit of India and commemorate the literary diversity it offers, bringing it in conversation with the best minds in the world of literature within and outside of Odisha and India. Academics, authors, political and social activists, law makers, government officials, corporate leaders, students and people from all walks of life immerse in the vibrant atmosphere of the festival and exchange opinions on their favourite authors and works. It has emerged as an Annual Flagship event in the cultural calendar of India and our focus is to rekindle the romance with literature and foster reading and writing habits, especially among the youth. It offers a national platform with a global appeal and bridges the gap between literature in English and other Indian regional languages.