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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The 2025 Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) Book Awards shortlist comprised 52 books across 13 categories: seven English categories and six Hindi categories, with four titles in each. The shortlists were announced on January 29, 2025. Scroll later reported winners announced on February 15, so the date is past and the results are included below.
What the 13 categories cover
The shortlist covered fiction, nonfiction, poetry, debut, translation and children’s books in both English and Hindi. English also had a business book category. Scroll reported an award of ₹1 lakh per category; its February follow-up said winners received ₹1 lakh and a trophy.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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James (Pulitzer Prize Winner): A Novel | $11.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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The Overstory: A Novel | $10.48 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) | $10.48 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Martyr! (National Book Award Finalist): A Novel | $10.66 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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A Thousand Acres (Pulitzer Prize Winner): A Novel | $10.49 | Buy on Amazon |
The lists below reproduce the titles, authors or translators, and publishers reported by Scroll. They identify shortlisted books, not a ranking of literary quality.
English shortlist
Fiction
- Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life — Upamanyu Chatterjee; Speaking Tiger Books.
- Loot — Tania James; Penguin.
- The Girl with the Seven Lives — Vikas Swarup; Simon and Schuster India.
- The Enclave — Rohit Manchanda; Harper Collins India.
Nonfiction
- Gods, Guns, and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity — Manu S Pillai; Penguin India.
- Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore’s Interregnum (1760-1799) — Vikram Sampath; Penguin India.
- Imperial Games in Tibet — Dilip Sinha; Pan Macmillan India.
- The Sherpa Trail: Stories from Darjeeling and Beyond — Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar; Roli Books.
Poetry
- Yes, There Will Be Singing — Hamraaz; Westland.
- I Don’t Love You Anymore — Rithvik Singh; Penguin India.
- I’ll Have It Here — Jeet Thayil; HarperCollins India.
- All These Streets We’ve Known By Heart — Siddharth Dasgupta; Red River Press.
Debut
- The Many Lives of Syeda X: The Story of an Unknown Indian — Neha Dixit; Juggernaut.
- Glass Bottom — Sonali Prasad; Pan Macmillan India.
- Girls Who Stray — Anisha Lalvani; Bloomsbury India.
- The Foresighted Ambedkar — Anurag Bhaskar; Penguin India.
Translation
- Ten Days of the Strike: Selected Stories — Sandipan Chattopadhyay, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha; HarperCollins India.
- Our City That Year — Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell; Penguin India.
- Boy Unloved — Damodar Mauzo, translated from Konkani by Jerry Pinto; Speaking Tiger Books.
- The Essential Ghalib — Anisur Rahman; HarperCollins India.
Business book
- Digital Fortunes: A Value Investor’s Guide to the New Economy — Smarak Swain; Bloomsbury India.
- Capitalism to Peopleism: Inspiring a Leadership Transformation — Ravi Chaudhry; Simon and Schuster India.
- Amrut – the Great Churn: The Global Story of India’s First Single Malt — Sriram Devatha; Westland.
- Let’s Talk Legacy — Monika Halan; HarperCollins India.
Children’s book
- The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes — Vidya Varadarajan; Scholastic India.
- Why the Apple Falls — Swagata Deb and Sandipan Deb; Juggernaut.
- Laxmi Panda: The Story of Netaji’s Youngest Spy — Savie Karnel; Westland.
- Save the Solar System with Nye and Friends — Tanya Gawdi; Rupa Publications.
Hindi shortlist
Nonfiction
- Godavan: More Angana Ki Son Chiraiya — Kabeer Sanjay; Vani Prakashan.
- Gaanv Se Bees Postcard — Shiv Balak Misra and Neelesh Misra; Slow Imprint/Eka, Westland.
- Over The Top: OTT ka Mayajaal Book — Anant Vijay; Prabhat Prakashan.
- Borsi Bhar Aanch | Ateet Ka Sairbeen — Yatish Kumar; Radhakrishna Prakashan.
Fiction
- Koi Hai Jo — Devi Prasad Mishra; Rajkamal Prakashan.
- Kissagram — Prabhat Ranjan; Rajpal And Sons.
- Vanya — Manisha Kulsherstha; Rajpal And Sons.
- Kans — Bhagwandas Morwal; Vani Prakashan.
Poetry
- Dharm Wah Naav Nahin — Shirish Kumar Maurya; Rajkamal Prakashan.
- Nadi Ka Marsiya To Pani Hi Gayega — Keshav Tiwari; Hind Yugm.
- Mere Aasan Jhoot — Dwarika Prasad Uniyal; Prabhat Prakashan.
- Vasna Ek Nadi Ka Naam Hai — Savita Singh; Vani Prakashan.
Debut
- Mutah: Ek Shodhparak Adhyayan — Naila Hasan; Vani Prakashan.
- Pui — Rahul Srivastava; Lokbharti Prakashan.
- Praayashchit — Ashwini Pratap; Hind Yugm.
- Chakka Jaam — Gautam Choubey; Rajkamal Prakashan.
Translation
- Tuka Akash Jitna: Poems — Sant Tukaram, translated by Rajendra Godapakar; Rukh Publication.
- Charu, Chivar Aur Charya — Pradeep Das, translated by Sujata Shiven; publisher not stated in Scroll’s shortlist report.
- Himalaya Ek Khoj: Lama, Sant aur Nastik — Namita Gokhale, translated by Prabhat Ranjan; publisher not stated in Scroll’s shortlist report.
- Chaku — Salman Rushdie, translated by Manjit Thakur; publisher not stated in Scroll’s shortlist report.
Children’s book
- Magic Box — Anulata Raj Nair, Deepak Hira Ranganath, and Anita Sethi; Slow Imprint/Eka, Westland.
- Saur Mandal ki Sair — Sarita Saraf and Alankrita Amaya; Adidev Press.
- Chand Pizza — Anurag Minus Verma; Pratham Books.
- Hamare Bacche Bane Acchey — Lal Devendra Srivastava; Swatantra Prakashan.
Who won the 2025 awards?
Scroll’s February 18, 2025 report said winners were announced on February 15. It reported winners in seven English categories and five Hindi categories. The report’s category count differs from the January shortlist announcement, which listed six Hindi categories; it does not explain the difference. The results below reflect the February report without assuming that any shortlist category was cancelled.
#1 Best Overall
English winners reported by Scroll
- Fiction: The Girl with the Seven Lives by Vikas Swarup and The Enclave by Rohit Manchanda.
- Nonfiction: Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore’s Interregnum by Vikram Sampath and The Sherpa Trail by Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar.
- Poetry: I’ll Have It Here by Jeet Thayil.
- Debut: The Many Lives of Syeda X by Neha Dixit.
- Translation: Ten Days of the Strike: Selected Stories by Sandipan Chattopadhyay, translated by Arunava Sinha.
- Business: Digital Fortunes by Smarak Swain.
- Children’s literature: Laxmi Panda: The Story of Netaji’s Youngest Spy by Savie Karnel.
Hindi winners reported by Scroll
- Nonfiction: Over the Top: OTT ka Mayajaal by Anant Vijay.
- Fiction: Vanya by Manisha Kulsherstha and Kissagram by Prabhat Ranjan.
- Poetry: Dharm Wah Naav Nahin by Shirish Kumar Maurya.
- Translation: Charu, Chivar Aur Charya by Pradeep Das, translated by Sujata Shiven.
- Debut: Chakka Jaam by Gautam Choubey.
- Special citation: Gaanv Se Bees Postcard by Shiv Balak Misra and Neelesh Misra.
The winner report also said Sanskrit and Odia awards would be presented at the Kalinga Literary Festival in Bhubaneswar on March 21–23, 2025. It did not give those results in the article’s English and Hindi category lists.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to use the shortlist as a reading guide
The award announcement provides category, title, author or translator, and publisher, but not plot descriptions, reviews, prices, formats, or current availability. To narrow the list, start with language and subject area; for translation titles, consider the source language and named translator. Treat those as ways to browse, not as evidence that one shortlisted book is better than another.
Rank #2
Sources: Scroll’s January 29 shortlist announcement and Scroll’s February 18 winners report.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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