Crossword and Vodafone are committed to promoting books and the reading habit. It recognizes and rewards the best of Indian writing and ensures that works of merit reach a wider audience. For 2009, here are the books vying for the award:
1. Kite Strings by Andaleeb Wajid, Cedar Books (Pustak Mahal)
2. Rosha by Vishal Bhandari, Cedar Books (Pustak Mahal)
3. The Journey Of Om by Chandru Bhojwani, Cedar Books (Pustak Mahal)
4. If It Is Sweet by Mridula Koshy, Westland
5. The Happy Associate by Urja, Westland
6. The Nalanda Chronicles by Kalpish Ratna, Westland
7. Etudes by Aseem Kaul, Westland
8. If I Could Tell You by Soumya Bhattacharya, Westland
9. Pack Of Lies by Urmilla Deshpande, Tranquebar (Westland)
10. Fallout by Usha Ramaswamy, Tranquebar (Westland)
11. Fugitive Histories by Githa Hariharan, Penguin Books India
12. The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, Penguin Books India
13. Family Values by Abha Dawesar, Penguin Books India
14. The Storyteller's Tale by Omair Ahmad, Penguin Books India
15. The Imperial Agent by Timeri N. Murari, Penguin Books India
16. For Pepper and Christ: A Novel by Keki Daruwalla, Penguin Books India
17. The Gold of Their Regrets by Ravi Shankar Etteth, Penguin Books India
18. The Strike by Anand Mahadevan, Penguin Books India
19. The Hotel at the End of the World by Parismita Singh, Penguin Books India
20. Eunuch Park: Fifteen Stories of Love and Destruction by Palash Krishna Mehrotra, Penguin Books India
21. Gods of War by Ashok Banker, Penguin Books India
22. The Great Indian Love Story by Ira Trivedi, Penguin Books India
23. The Silent One by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan, Penguin Books India
24. See Paris for Me by Priti Aisola, Penguin Books India
25. Balancing Act by Meera Godbole Krishnamurthy, Penguin Books India & Zubaan
26. The Confession of Sultana Daku by Sujit Saraf, Penguin Books India
27. Venus Crossing: Twelve Stories of Transit by Kalpana Swaminathan, Penguin Books India
28. Laburnum for My Head: Stories by Temsula Ao, Penguin Books India
29. Stupid Cupid by Mamang Dai, Penguin Books India
30. Stupid Cupid by Dhruba Hazarika, Penguin Books India
31. The Diary of an Unreasonable Man by Madhav Mathur, Penguin Books India
32. My Friend Sancho by Amit Varma, Hachette India
33. Faking It by Amrita Chowdhury, Hachette India
34. The Englishman's Cameo by Madhulika Liddle, Hachette India
35. Come, Before Evening Falls by Manjul Bajaj, Hachette India
36. Fairyish Tales by Sumit Mullick, Macmillan Publishers India
37. Death Of A Moneylender by Kota Neelima, Roli Books
38. Neti Neti - Not This, Not This by Anjum Hasan, Roli Books
39. The Immortals by Amit Chaudhuri, Picador India
40. Eating Women, Telling Tales - Stories About Food by Bulbul Sharma, Zubaan
41. A Triptych by Dipanjan Rai Chaudhuri, Niyogi Books
42. BPO Sutra by Sudhindra Mokhasi, Rupa & Co.
43. True Dummy by Ashish Jaiswal, Rupa & Co.
44. An Immortal Story by M. Sreekumar, Rupa & Co.
45. Unruly Times by Prashant Bhawalkar, Rupa & Co.
46. Family Planning by Karan Mahajan, Rupa & Co.
47. Remembering The Juice Mango by Neena Kahlon, Rupa & Co.
48. A Long Day's Night by Pradip Ghosh, Rupa & Co.
49. Right Fit Wrong Shoe by Varsha Dixit, Rupa & Co.
50. 2 States - The Story Of My Marriage by Chetan Bhagat, Rupa & Co.
51. That Calcutta…Those Bongs! by Dipanwita Mukherjee, Rupa & Co.
52. Not Exactly Shangri-La by Martin Moir, Rupa & Co.
53. Devil In Pinstripes by Ravi Subramanian, Rupa & Co.
54. Lanterns on Their Horns by Radhika Jha, HarperCollins India
55. The Comeback: A Story of Bankruptcy and Survival by Suhas Mantri, HarperCollins India
56. Arrack in the Afternoon by Mathew Menacherry, HarperCollins India
57. Cloud 9 Minus One by Sangeeta Mall, HarperCollins India
58. Tiya: A Parrot's Journey Home by Swami Samarpananda (Foreword by Upamanyu Chatterjee), HarperCollins India
59. SECRETS & LIES by Jaishree Misra, HarperCollins India
60. Deaf Heaven by Pinki Virani, HarperCollins India
61. The Curious Case of 221 B: The Secret Notebooks of John H. Watson, MD by Partha Basu, HarperCollins India
62. Rupture by Sampurna Chatterji, HarperCollins India
63. Arzee the Dwarf by Chandrahas Choudhury, HarperCollins India
64. First Love by Brinda Charry, HarperCollins India
65. Dead on Time by Meghnad Desai, HarperCollins India
66. The Long Walk Home by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, HarperCollins India
67. Solo by Rana Dasgupta, HarperCollins India
68. Salim Must Die by Mukul Deva, HarperCollins India
69. Cappuccino Dusk by Kankana Basu, HarperCollins India
70. Nothing Is Blue by Biman Nath, HarperCollins India
71. The Story of My Assassins by Tarun J. Tejpal, HarperCollins India
72. The Sacred Secret by Ravi Kapur, Om Books
73. Pilgrimage To Paradise : Sufi Tales From Rumi by Kamla K Kapur, Penguin Books India
A short story from The Journey of Om by Chandru Bhojwani was previously featured on Asia Writes and may be found here.
1. Kite Strings by Andaleeb Wajid, Cedar Books (Pustak Mahal)
2. Rosha by Vishal Bhandari, Cedar Books (Pustak Mahal)
3. The Journey Of Om by Chandru Bhojwani, Cedar Books (Pustak Mahal)
4. If It Is Sweet by Mridula Koshy, Westland
5. The Happy Associate by Urja, Westland
6. The Nalanda Chronicles by Kalpish Ratna, Westland
7. Etudes by Aseem Kaul, Westland
8. If I Could Tell You by Soumya Bhattacharya, Westland
9. Pack Of Lies by Urmilla Deshpande, Tranquebar (Westland)
10. Fallout by Usha Ramaswamy, Tranquebar (Westland)
11. Fugitive Histories by Githa Hariharan, Penguin Books India
12. The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, Penguin Books India
13. Family Values by Abha Dawesar, Penguin Books India
14. The Storyteller's Tale by Omair Ahmad, Penguin Books India
15. The Imperial Agent by Timeri N. Murari, Penguin Books India
16. For Pepper and Christ: A Novel by Keki Daruwalla, Penguin Books India
17. The Gold of Their Regrets by Ravi Shankar Etteth, Penguin Books India
18. The Strike by Anand Mahadevan, Penguin Books India
19. The Hotel at the End of the World by Parismita Singh, Penguin Books India
20. Eunuch Park: Fifteen Stories of Love and Destruction by Palash Krishna Mehrotra, Penguin Books India
21. Gods of War by Ashok Banker, Penguin Books India
22. The Great Indian Love Story by Ira Trivedi, Penguin Books India
23. The Silent One by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan, Penguin Books India
24. See Paris for Me by Priti Aisola, Penguin Books India
25. Balancing Act by Meera Godbole Krishnamurthy, Penguin Books India & Zubaan
26. The Confession of Sultana Daku by Sujit Saraf, Penguin Books India
27. Venus Crossing: Twelve Stories of Transit by Kalpana Swaminathan, Penguin Books India
28. Laburnum for My Head: Stories by Temsula Ao, Penguin Books India
29. Stupid Cupid by Mamang Dai, Penguin Books India
30. Stupid Cupid by Dhruba Hazarika, Penguin Books India
31. The Diary of an Unreasonable Man by Madhav Mathur, Penguin Books India
32. My Friend Sancho by Amit Varma, Hachette India
33. Faking It by Amrita Chowdhury, Hachette India
34. The Englishman's Cameo by Madhulika Liddle, Hachette India
35. Come, Before Evening Falls by Manjul Bajaj, Hachette India
36. Fairyish Tales by Sumit Mullick, Macmillan Publishers India
37. Death Of A Moneylender by Kota Neelima, Roli Books
38. Neti Neti - Not This, Not This by Anjum Hasan, Roli Books
39. The Immortals by Amit Chaudhuri, Picador India
40. Eating Women, Telling Tales - Stories About Food by Bulbul Sharma, Zubaan
41. A Triptych by Dipanjan Rai Chaudhuri, Niyogi Books
42. BPO Sutra by Sudhindra Mokhasi, Rupa & Co.
43. True Dummy by Ashish Jaiswal, Rupa & Co.
44. An Immortal Story by M. Sreekumar, Rupa & Co.
45. Unruly Times by Prashant Bhawalkar, Rupa & Co.
46. Family Planning by Karan Mahajan, Rupa & Co.
47. Remembering The Juice Mango by Neena Kahlon, Rupa & Co.
48. A Long Day's Night by Pradip Ghosh, Rupa & Co.
49. Right Fit Wrong Shoe by Varsha Dixit, Rupa & Co.
50. 2 States - The Story Of My Marriage by Chetan Bhagat, Rupa & Co.
51. That Calcutta…Those Bongs! by Dipanwita Mukherjee, Rupa & Co.
52. Not Exactly Shangri-La by Martin Moir, Rupa & Co.
53. Devil In Pinstripes by Ravi Subramanian, Rupa & Co.
54. Lanterns on Their Horns by Radhika Jha, HarperCollins India
55. The Comeback: A Story of Bankruptcy and Survival by Suhas Mantri, HarperCollins India
56. Arrack in the Afternoon by Mathew Menacherry, HarperCollins India
57. Cloud 9 Minus One by Sangeeta Mall, HarperCollins India
58. Tiya: A Parrot's Journey Home by Swami Samarpananda (Foreword by Upamanyu Chatterjee), HarperCollins India
59. SECRETS & LIES by Jaishree Misra, HarperCollins India
60. Deaf Heaven by Pinki Virani, HarperCollins India
61. The Curious Case of 221 B: The Secret Notebooks of John H. Watson, MD by Partha Basu, HarperCollins India
62. Rupture by Sampurna Chatterji, HarperCollins India
63. Arzee the Dwarf by Chandrahas Choudhury, HarperCollins India
64. First Love by Brinda Charry, HarperCollins India
65. Dead on Time by Meghnad Desai, HarperCollins India
66. The Long Walk Home by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, HarperCollins India
67. Solo by Rana Dasgupta, HarperCollins India
68. Salim Must Die by Mukul Deva, HarperCollins India
69. Cappuccino Dusk by Kankana Basu, HarperCollins India
70. Nothing Is Blue by Biman Nath, HarperCollins India
71. The Story of My Assassins by Tarun J. Tejpal, HarperCollins India
72. The Sacred Secret by Ravi Kapur, Om Books
73. Pilgrimage To Paradise : Sufi Tales From Rumi by Kamla K Kapur, Penguin Books India
A short story from The Journey of Om by Chandru Bhojwani was previously featured on Asia Writes and may be found here.
