Authors Aravind Adiga and KR Meera along with five other Indian authors have made it to the longlist of the seventh DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017 for their books Selection Day and The Poison of Love respectively. The other Indian authors in the list include Perumal Murugan for Pyre; Anjali Joseph for The Living; Anosh Irani for The Parcel; Hirsh Sawhney for South Haven; and Karan Mahajan for The Association of Small Bombs.
Since its initiation in 2010, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is acknowledging the best of South Asian writers’ works through a process of an esteemed five-member jury panel selection. The prize carries an award sum of $25,000 for the best South Asian literary work.
The announcement of the longlist for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017 was made by eminent feminist writer and publisher Ritu Menon, who is the chair of the jury panel for the distinguished prize. The list, which includes 13 novels, was unveiled at the Oxford Bookstore in New Delhi and it represents a diverse mix of established writers and debut novelists from different backgrounds and geographies.
Speaking on the occasion, Ritu Menon, Chair of the jury commented, ‘As a jury, we were struck by several exceptional qualities in the novels selected: their inventiveness and creativity, both of subject matter and in literary treatment. And we were reminded that, although the writers’ preoccupations may be universal and their sensibility cosmopolitan, their voices are distinctly South Asian.’
Apart from the 7 Indian writers in the list, there are 3 Pakistani writers, 2 Sri Lankan writers and 1 American writer based in India. The longlist comprises three debut novels and also includes two translated entries where the original writing has been in Tamil and Malayalam.
The final winner would be announced at a special Award Ceremony at the Dhaka Literary Festival on November 18th, 2017.