Meghalaya's Janice Pariat wins best fiction prize at inaugural Pen n Paper Book Awards

Acclaimed author Janice Pariat has won the Best Book in Fiction award at the inaugural Pen n Paper Book Awards for her novel "Everything The Light Touches." The HarperCollins India publication led a diverse group of winners across ten categories at the new literary awards program.

Veteran poet Gulzar Sahab secured the poetry category for "Baal-o-Par: Collected Poems," while historian Vikram Sampath's "Waiting for Shiva" won in non-fiction for its examination of Kashi's Gyan Vapi.

The awards aim to recognise both established and emerging voices in Indian literature. "This is an amazing opportunity for new authors and publishers to showcase their work," said publisher Arup Bose.

Other notable winners included "The Golden Tiger Mountain" by Ravi Kapoor, Nicholas Hoffland and Tanaya Vyas in children's literature and "Valli: A Novel" by Sheela Tomyand and Jayasree Kalathil in translations. Dr Mickey Mehta's "Weightless - Unburden" topped the self-help category.

The judging process involved evaluating hundreds of submissions across genres. "We looked for stories that were forward-looking and created a world of positivity," said Books Barista marketeer Harshil Shah.

Hindi language works were recognised in two categories, with Dr Nidhi Agarwal's "Gillu Ki Nayi Kahani" winning fiction and Dr Laxman Yadav's "Professor Ki Diary" claiming the non-fiction prize.