Chandigarh, November 9– Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) has announced the longlist for the inaugural CLF Literati Awards 2025, instituted to honour outstanding works of fiction and non-fiction in English and Hindi. Festival Director Dr. Sumita Misra informed that the CLF Literati Book Awards aim to celebrate creativity, originality, and the cultural impact of contemporary writing in India. The longlist features an impressive line-up of celebrated authors and emerging voices whose works reflect the depth and diversity of Indian literary expression.
“Literature shapes how we see our world and ourselves,” said Dr. Sumita Misra, Chairperson, CLS. “Through the CLF Literati Awards, we aim to honour stories and ideas that enrich our collective imagination and uphold the spirit of creative excellence.”
The awards are part of the 13th edition of the Chandigarh Literature Festival – Literati 2025, to be held on November 22–23 at Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh. “We received 350+ entries from all leading publishers all over India,” added Dr Sumita Misra.
A distinguished jury will evaluate the long-listed titles to select the shortlist and ultimately the winners, who will be felicitated at the festival with a cash award, citation, and trophy.
CLF Literati Book Awards 2025 – Longlist
In the English Non-Fiction category, the longlisted authors include Ajay Bisaria for Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan (Aleph Book Company); Alka Pande for Devi and Her Avatars (Rupa Publications India); Amitabh Kant for How India Scaled Mt G20 (Rupa Publications India); Amitav Ghosh for Wild Fictions: Essays (HarperCollins Publishers India); Amrita Shah for The Other Mohan in Britain’s Indian Ocean Empire: A Personal Journey into History (HarperCollins Publishers India); Devdutt Pattanaik for Ahimsa: 100 Reflections on the Harappan Civilization (HarperCollins Publishers India); Gopalkrishna Gandhi for The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India (Aleph Book Company); Ira Mukhoty for The Lion and the Lily: The Rise & Fall of Awadh (Aleph Book Company); Najma Heptulla for In Pursuit of Democracy: Beyond Party Lines (Rupa Publications India); Peter Heehs for The Mother: A Life of Sri Aurobindo’s Spiritual Collaborator (HarperCollins Publishers India); Pushpesh Pant for From the King’s Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi (Speaking Tiger Books); Ramachandra Guha for Speaking with Nature: The Origins of Indian Environmentalism (HarperCollins Publishers India); Ruskin Bond for Another Day in Landour: Looking Out from My Window (HarperCollins Publishers India); Shashi Tharoor for A Wonderland of Word: Around the Word in 101 Essays (Aleph Book Company); and Stephen Alter for The Cobra’s Gaze: Exploring India’s Wild Heritage (Aleph Book Company).
In the English Fiction category, the longlist features Amarjit Sidhu (A River Runs Back, Speaking Tiger Books); Amitabha Bagchi (Unknown City: A Novel, HarperCollins Publishers India); Anita Desai (Rosarita, Pan Macmillan India); Annie Zaidi (The Comeback: A Novel, Aleph Book Company); Anuradha Marwah (Aunties of Vasant Kunj, Rupa Publications); Ashwin Sanghi (The Ayodhya Alliance: Bharat Collection 8, HarperCollins Publishers India); Bhaichand Patel (Across the River, Speaking Tiger Books); Farrukh Dhondy (Deccan Queen Take Two, Om Books International); Hamish Morjaria (The Curse of Muziris, Pan Macmillan India); Jeet Thayil (The Elsewhereans: A Documentary Novel, HarperCollins Publishers India); Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri (Swallowing the Sun: A Novel, Aleph Book Company); Manjul Bajaj (Once Upon A Summer, HarperCollins Publishers India); Rashmi Narzary (Whistles of the Siphoong: Tales from the Bodo Heartland, Om Books International); Shabir Ahmad Mir (The Last Knot, Pan Macmillan India), and Stephen Alter (The Greatest Game: Being the Further Adventures of Kimball O’Hara, Aleph Book Company).
The Hindi Fiction/Non-Fiction longlist includes Anju Ranjan (Sheetal Dhoop, Vijaya Books); Anurag Anant (Muhavare Ki Maut, Lokbharti Prakashan); Balram (Shubh Din, Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.); Geetashree (Kaamnaon Ki Munder Par, Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.); Kaifi Hashmi (Shea Butter, Lokbharti Prakashan); Manoj Kumar Pandey (Pratiroop, Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.); Padmaja (Main Koi Aur, Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.); Renu Behl (Raat Ka Chautha Pahar, Educational Publishing House); Kailash Wankhede (Ujla Andhera, Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.), and Yatish Kumar (Borsi Bhar Aanch, Radhakrishna Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.).
