The shortlist for 2019 JCB Prize for Literature was announced on Friday and five authors who made it to the list are Perumal Murugan, Roshan Ali, Manoranjan Byapari, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar and Madhuri Vijay. While Ali and Vijay are debut authors, eminent Tamil novelist Murugan has made it to the shortlist second time in a row.
Stating that these six novels, Murugan's was a collective entry, share a deep sense of justice and injustice, jury chair Pradip Krishen said, "Bringing voices from across the country, these novels address the many specific difficulties of living a life in Indian society. With a combination of lyricism and humour, the five novelists portray characters who are at odds with their - very different - worlds. Their private struggles help illuminate larger themes, including patriarchy in rural southern India, religious and political conflict in Kashmir, and social and sexual marginalization in eastern India. Taken together these novels remind us that fiction remains the most powerful way for a society to examine its fundamental concerns."
Each of the five shortlisted authors will receive Rs 1 lakh; if a shortlisted work is a translation, the translator will receive an additional Rs 50,000. The winner of the Rs 25 lakh prize will be announced at the awards dinner on November 2. If the winning work is a translation, the translator will receive an additional Rs 10 lakh.
"This year's shortlist displays a satisfying diversity of voices, as is appropriate to the scale and variety of this country. These five books transport us to very different parts of India, and give us access to very different kinds of life," noted Rana Dasgupta, Literary Director.
Here's the shortlist: