New Delhi: The longlist for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature was announced on Friday, September 27. With 15 novels, the list comprises three translations, seven books written by women authors and seven by debutant novelists.The shortlist of six or five books will be announced on November 6 in London. The winner will be announced in a special award ceremony on December 16, at Pokhara in Nepal. The winner will receive $25,000.In its ninth year, the prize has embraced the breadth of subjectivity, diversity and individual expression from voices which have roots across the subcontinent.Also read: Jayant Kaikini Wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for ‘No Presents Please’The chosen 15 are:• Akil Kumarasamy: Half Gods• Amitabha Bagchi: Half the Night is Gone• Devi S. Laskar: The Atlas of Reds and Blues • Fatima Bhutto: The Runaways • Jamil Jan Kochai: 99 Nights in Logar • Madhuri Vijay: The Far Field • Manoranjan Byapari: There’s Gunpowder in the Air (Translated by Arunava Sinha)• Mirza Waheed: Tell Her Everything • Nadeem Zaman: In the Time of the Others • Perumal Murugan: A Lonely Harvest (Translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan)• Rajkamal Jha: The City and the Sea• Sadia Abbas: The Empty Room• Shubhangi Swarup: Latitudes of Longing• T. D. Ramakrishnan: Sugandhi alias Andal Devanayaki • Tova Reich: Mother IndiaHarish Trivedi, chair of the jury said at the announcement, “We read 90 novels at the average rate of one a day – an exhilarating, enlightening and humbling experience.”
