Shortlist - The DSC Prize For South Asian Literature

Press Release
The major $50,000 prize narrows its search down to six books.
Anticipation around the new DSC Prize for South Asian Literature continued to rise last night as the shortlist was announced at a prestigious gala dinner at London's Globe Theatre.
Longlisted authors, publishers, London's literati and ambassadors from the South Asian region gathered together for the event, which was also the finale of the 2010 DSC South Asian Literature Festival in London.

After intense deliberation over the longlist comprising 16 books, the eminent Jury, chaired by Nilanjana S Roy along with renowned literary figures Lord Matthew Evans, Ian Jack, Amitava Kumar, and Moni Mohsin, selected the shortlist for this major new award. The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature has a prize value of $50,000 for the best writing about the South Asian region.
The shortlisted entries for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature are:

- Amit Chaudhuri: The Immortals (Picador India)
- Musharraf Ali Farooqui: The Story of a Widow (Picador India)
- Tania James: Atlas Of Unknowns (Pocket Books)
- Manju Kapur: The Immigrant (Faber & Faber)
- Neel Mukherjee: A Life Apart (Constable & Robinson)
- HM Naqvi: Home Boy (HarperCollins India)

Speaking on the occasion, Chairperson of the Jury, Nilanjana S Roy said, "As we finalised our shortlist, the criteria that was uppermost in our minds was DSC's mandate to look for the best and the most interesting examples of the contemporary novel set in, or about, South Asia. In different ways, as we argued the merits of the final six contenders, all of us rediscovered the pleasures of reading — a pleasure that we hope will be shared by all readers, wherever they come from.

Mr Manhad Narula, Director, DSC Limited said, "Shortlisting six books from 16 can never be an easy task especially if all 16 authors are powerhouses of literary talent. The jury for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature must be applauded for executing this responsibility and narrowing the nominations to the most deserving six This shortlist announced here at the DSC South Asian Literature Festival, brings us one exciting step closer to the winner of this prestigious prize."


The winner of the first DSC Prize for South Asian Literature will be declared at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2011. The prize will be awarded for the best work of fiction pertaining to the South Asian region, published in English, including translations into English.