November 30th, 2016

The pleasantly windy dusk grew brighter by the presence of literary gems for the 14th RAYMOND CROSSWORD BOOK at NCPA Mumbai. Litwizs like Gulzar Saheb, Shekhar Gupta, Ranjit Lal and many more amplified the awards evening with their presence and the quotes of encouragement. The evening was a phenomenon to be witnessed with the awards show complemented with performances by noted classical dancer Aditi Bhagwat & Indiva – the only DIVA band from India to perform World Folk Fusion Music.

[easy-image-collage id=3929]

14th RAYMOND CROSSWORD BOOK AWARD ANNOUNCED and Gulzar Sahab presented Lifetime Achievement Award to Ruskin Bond.

A battle of epic proportions has been underway, over the last month, as authors found themselves part of an electoral process, to win the coveted trophy of the Raymond Crossword Book Award, India’s oldest and most prestigious award.

Over the years, the Award has been equated to the Pulitzer and Booker and is a definitive,veritable platform for Indian Authors. The Raymond Crossword Book Award not only recognizes and rewards Indian literary talent but actively promotes the same to a wider audience.

The awardees have always had, or risen to stature in the world of literature. And it was a star-studded shortlist this year. Kinjal Shah, CEO Crossword Bookstores says, “It’s that time of the year when the whole publishing industry in India comes forward as one family to recognize its own stars. It’s exciting that the voting numbers have been heartwarming this year.”

 

A bevy of glittering stars were present at the Award, including Shekhar Gupta, Mynoo Maryel, Anupama Chopra , Twinkle Khanna, Piyush Pandey, Roopa Pai, Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi, Durjoy Dutta, Radhakrishnan Pillai, Hrishi. K, Subashree Krishnaswamy, Annie Zaidi, Mohd. Asaduddin, Naresh Fernandes, Kalpana Sharma, Harsh Sethi, Ira Pande, Prof M S Sriram, Prof Sukanta Chaudhuri, Aravinda Anantharaman, Sujata Noronha, Siddhartha Sarma, B S Nagesh and many more authors and guests.

Social media maven Miss Malini was the host of the evening. Major publishers present at the Award included Penguin Random House India, Harper Collins India, Hachette India, Scholastic India, Niyogi Books, and Westland Books.

This year, the Award has gone through a makeover, with ten categories and a lifetime achievement award. A total of 11 awards were given away, in the following three categories.

WINNERS: POPULAR CHOICE AWARD

Fiction

Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – popular – fiction category

WINNERS: POPULAR CHOICE AWARD

Non-fiction

 

Mrs. Funnybones by Twinkle Khanna wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – Popular Award – Nonfiction category

WINNERS: POPULAR CHOICE AWARD

Biography

Playing It My Way by Sachin Tendulkar (co-author Boria Majumdar) wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – popular award for best biography

 

WINNERS: POPULAR CHOICE AWARD

Business and management

Chanakya in You by Radhakrishnan Pillai wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – popular award in Business and Management category

WINNERS: POPULAR CHOICE AWARD

Health and fitness

Body Goddess by Payal Gidwani wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – popular award in health and wellness category

WINNERS: POPULAR CHOICE AWARD

Children

Gita: For Children by Roopa Pai wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – popular award for Children’s writing

WINNERS: JURY – Fiction

Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – jury award for fiction

WINNERS: JURY – Non-fiction

Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India by Akshaya Mukul wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – jury award for best non-fiction

WINNERS: JURY – Translation

The Sun That Rose From the Earth by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi is the Raymond Crossword Book Award – jury winner for the best translated book

WINNERS: JURY – Children

Our Nana was a Nutcase by Ranjit Lal wins the Raymond Crossword Book Award – jury award for the best book for children’s writing

WINNER: LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

India’s finest lyricist and poet, Gulzar Sahab bestowed the Lifetime achievement award to beloved author Ruskin Bond. Speaking on the occasion, Gulzar Sahab said, ” Bond sir and I share a deep friendship that goes a long way back. I would like to say, “Cheers” to Bond sir, for winning this award.”

[easy-image-collage id=3930]

About Crossword Bookstores.

With the tagline ‘educate, entertain, enlighten’, Crossword Bookstores is India’s largest retailer of books that endeavors to spread knowledge & inculcate the habit of reading.

Crossword Bookstores stands by the objective to promote ‘Reading and Writing’ through95 stores across 33 cities in India. The Book Award is a mega event, organized every year, to award Indian Authors to promote readership and recognize the best of literature.

Crossword Bookstores also launched a short film, “A Book Never Runs Out of Battery” to mark the 14th anniversary of the award.

The event was attended by over 100 authors, prestigious guests and customers, all at the Tata Theatre – NCPA.

[easy-image-collage id=3931]