The Prize is now in its
fifth year and over the past half-decade it has helped present writing about
the South Asian region to a global audience.
The last four years have had winners from three different countries in
South Asia: H.M. Naqvi from Pakistan (Homeboy, Harper Collins, India); Shehan
Karunatilaka from Sri Lanka (Chinaman,
Random House, India); Jeet Thayil from India (Narcopolis, Faber & Faber, London) and Cyrus Mistry from India
(Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer, Aleph India). Each of these winners has gone on to international
success.
Now, the longlist for the
2015 Prize has been announced in New Delhi.
The announcement was made by Keki N. Daruwalla, leading Indian writer
and poet, and chair of the jury panel. Other members are: John Freeman, author,
literary critic and former editor of Granta
from the US; Maithree Wickramasinghe, a Professor of English at the University
of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka and at the University of Sussex, UK, and an expert on
gender studies; Michael Worton, Emeritus Professor at University College London
who has written extensively on modern literature and art; Razi Ahmed from
Pakistan, the founding director of the Lahore Literary Festival.
The longlist of 10 books showcases
work the jury feels best represents the eclectic and vibrant voice of the South
Asian region. It includes a mix of established writers and debut novelists, and
spans authors from different backgrounds and geographies. It features authors
originating from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, some of whom are
now based in USA, UK and Canada.
Keki N. Daruwalla said: “It
has been both exhausting and rewarding going through the entries. As expected
the variety was considerable. Obviously there was a tremendous mix here - of
themes, landscapes, styles, issues, both political and personal. The narratives
ranged from eighteenth and nineteenth century history to the Naxalite era in
West Bengal, and from tribal rebellions to feudal atrocities. Scene and
landscape varied from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal to Afghanistan. To give
an idea of the variety, in one title a schizophrenic from Bihar imagines
conversations with Sylvia Plath and Blake. In another soldiers returning from
the Great War of 1914—1918 find life different in the North-West Frontier Province
of what was then called British India. In yet another a Sri Lankan car driver
on hire explores the past.”
At the announcement of
the longlist Manhad Narula of the DSC Prize Steering Committee, said: “I am
delighted that the DSC Prize has been able to highlight a range of issues
pertaining to the ever evolving South Asian life - its culture, its people, and
their new found aspirations. Given such a strong longlist, it will be
interesting to see which books make it to the shortlist from here."
Indeed it will. The shortlist will be announced on 27th November in London. The winner will be declared at the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2015.
The Longlist
Bilal Tanweer: The Scatter Here is Too Great (Vintage Books / Random House,
India)
Jaspreet Singh: Helium (Bloomsbury, India)
Jhumpa Lahiri: The Lowland (Vintage Books / Random House, India)
Kamila Shamsie: A God in Every Stone (Bloomsbury, India)
Khaled Hosseini: And the Mountains Echoed (Bloomsbury, India)
Meena Kandasamy: The Gypsy Goddess (Fourth Estate / Harper Collins, India)
Omar Shahid Hamid: The Prisoner (Pan Books / Pan Macmillan, India)
Romesh Gunesekera: Noontide
Toll (Hamish Hamilton / Penguin,
India)
Rukmini Bhaya Nair: Mad Girl’s Love Song (Harper Collins, India)
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi: The Mirror of Beauty (Penguin Books, India)