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Hindustan Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
India's most expensive literary award — the JCB Prize for Literature — is officially discontinued; everything to know
In a move that has left the Indian literary world stunned, the JCB Prize for Literature — once the country's most lucrative book award — has officially been discontinued. The ₹ 25-lakh award, which honoured the best work of fiction by an Indian author each year, has been shut down, with no future editions planned. JCB Prize for Literature The confirmation came on June 21 from Mita Kapur, Literary Director of the JCB Prize, who said, 'The prize has been shut down. I am not going to deny something that is evident. But for everything else, 'no comment'.' The last winner of the award was Upamanyu Chatterjee in 2024, for his novel Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life. While the reasons for the shutdown remain unclear, the decision closely follows the cancellation of the JCB Literature Foundation's licence. A notice dated March 12 on the award's official website stated that the foundation had applied to the Registrar of Companies, Delhi & Haryana, seeking to revoke its Section 8(5) license under the Companies Act, 2013. It added that the organisation would now be reclassified as a 'Private Limited' company, no longer functioning as a foundation. The award was given by the 'foundation', which was established to promote the 'art of literature in India'. About the JCB Prize for Literature Founded in 2018, the JCB Prize was widely celebrated not just for its generous cash prize, but for its commitment to promoting Indian fiction across languages. Five out of the seven winning books were translations — a reflection of the prize's dedication to linguistic diversity. Landmark winners included Jasmine Days by Benyamin (translated from Malayalam), Delhi: A Soliloquy by M Mukundan (Malayalam), The Paradise of Food by Khalid Jawed (Urdu), and Fire Bird by Perumal Murugan (Tamil). Each shortlisted author received ₹ 1 lakh, and in the case of a translated work, the translator was awarded ₹ 50,000. When a translated novel won, the translator took home an impressive ₹ 10 lakh alongside the author's ₹ 25 lakh. As tributes pour in from authors, publishers, and translators across the country, the loss of the JCB Prize marks the end of a short yet impactful chapter in Indian literary history.
New Indian Express
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
India's most prestigious literary award, JCB Prize for literature, discontinued
NEW DELHI: The JCB Prize for Literature, India's most prestigious book award, appears to have been quietly discontinued, sparking concern across the literary community, including among writers, translators, and publishers. A person close to the award told PTI on Saturday that 'it has shut down', though there has been no official confirmation from the JCB Literature Foundation. Established in 2018, the prize aimed to 'celebrate Indian writing, and to help readers across the world discover the very best of contemporary Indian literature'. Following the awarding of the 2023 prize to English writer Upamanyu Chatterjee on November 23 last year, the foundation has remained silent. Its last social media post, on 27 November, congratulated Chatterjee for winning the Rs 25 lakh prize. Notably, the annual call for entries which typically opens in the first week of March did not take place this year. Malayalam author Benyamin, winner of the inaugural 2018 award for Jasmine Days (translated into English by Shahnaz Habib), described the development as 'deeply disappointing'.
Indian Express
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
India's most expensive literary award, JCB Prize for Literature, discontinued
The annual JCB Prize for Literature, the most expensive literary award — Rs 25 lakh — in the country, has been shut down. The discontinuation of the award, which was last given to writer Upamanyu Chatterjee for 'Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life', in 2024, was confirmed by Mita Kapur, Literary Director, JCB prize, on June 21, even as she refused to elaborate on the events that led to decision. 'The prize has been shut down. I am not going to deny something that is evident. But for everything else, 'no comment',' she said. The news comes after the cancellation of the JCB Literature Foundation's licence 'issued to it under section 8(5) of the companies Act, 2013'. According to a notice, dated March 12, on the JCB Prize website, the foundation had sent an application to the Registrar of companies, Delhi & Haryana at Delhi for revocation of the licence. 'The company will be required to add the word 'Private Limited' to its name in place of 'Foundation',' the notice said. The literary award was given by the 'foundation', which was established with the purpose of promoting 'the art of literature in India'. Established in 2018, the JCB Prize for Literature, besides carrying a hefty cash prize, was a pioneer in celebrating Indian fiction, particularly translations. Out of the seven editions, the prize went to works of translations five times — 'Jasmine Days' by Benjamin in 2018, translated from Malayalam by Shahnaz Habib; 'Moustache' by S Hareesh in 2020, translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil; 'Delhi: A Soliloquy' in 2021, translated from Malayalam by Fathima EV and Nandakumar K; 'The Paradise of Food' in 2022 by Khalid Jawed, translated from Urdu by Barman Farooqi and 'Fire Bird' by Perumal Murugan in 2024, translated from Tamil by Janani Kannan. The 2019 awardee was 'The Far Field' by Madhuri Vijay. Murugan, who waited half a decade before winning the prize — he was on the JCB shortlist in 2018 for 'Poonachi' and then 2019 for 'A Lonely Harvest' and 'Trial by Silence'— said he was saddened by the news. 'It is sad for Indian literature, especially in Indian languages. The JCB Prize celebrated Indian languages and awarded works of translations. It was a huge award. Besides giving Rs 25 lakh to the writer, the translator also received Rs 10 lakh. They clearly considered Indian languages important. Malayalam works have won twice and Tamil and Urdu once,' said the writer, who is best known for his novel 'Madhorubhagan', translated in English as 'One Part Woman'. When Mukundan found out about the news, he was hoping that it would be a hoax. Thanks to the JCB Prize for Literature, he said, regional writers were able to 'transcend the borders of languages'. 'Earlier, we were only regional writers. The award made us Indian writers. Its discontinuation is the saddest thing to happen. Before it, those writing in regional languages were sidelined. Only those writing in English were considered Indian. Salman Rushdie's anthology of Indian writing ('Mirrorwork: 50 Years of Indian Writing, 1947-1997'; published in 1997) did not have a single regional name. All were writers in English. Regional writers benefited the most from this award,' he said. Jawed, the 2022 winner of the prize and a professor of Urdu at Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia, has urged for a review of this decision to shut down the award. 'This is a great loss to Indian writing and translating because the recognition a writer gains by JCB prize is an incredible achievement indeed among world writers. Otherwise, Indian writing would have been invisible in the sphere of world literature. I think this decision must be reviewed with regard to the socio-political scenario of India and politics of language prevalent in India,' he said. The JCB Prize for Literature was arguably the most captivating annual literary awards in the country. 'It's been one of the highlights of the year ever since it was set up and having a book on the list was something we celebrated. Both Rana (Dasgupta, founding literary director of the prize) and Mita brought so much thought and planning to it year after year, assembling excellent juries and driving publicity for the books,' says Karthika VK of Westland that published Mukundan's 2021 winning entry under the imprint Eka. While for established writers like Chatterjee, it was an addition to the long list of accolades, for Murugan and Mukundan — renowned among regional audiences — the award made their stories accessible to national and international readers. It was, however, equally significant in the way it brought lesser-known and new Indian writers — both in English and other languages — to the forefront, through a comprehensive longlist of 10 books put out by an accomplished jury that has had names such as Deepa Mehta (film director), Vivek Shanbagh (novelist and playwright), Pradip Krishen (filmmaker and environmentalist), Arvind Subramanian (economist), Janice Pariat (author) and J Devika (historian and translator). Writers like Manoranjan Byapari, Sahara Nusaiba Kannanari, Sandhya Mary, Manoj Rupda, Sheela Tomy, Daribha Lyndem and Dharini Bhaskar were put on India's literary map simply by virtue of being shortlisted for the award. 'The award inspired better writing in regional languages and we had something to look forward to every year. Now we will be back to being regional writers,' rued Mukundan.
