Crossword Book Awards 2025 Unveils Its Highly-Anticipated Jury Shortlist

Crossword Bookstores has announced its much-awaited Jury Awards shortlist for the prestigious Crossword Book Awards 2025. This follows the longlist announcement made last month. The year's shortlist is a diverse and vibrant collection of five books per category representing the pinnacle of excellence and narrative innovation in Indian writing in English.

This year’s shortlist spans five key categories – Fiction, Non-fiction, Translations, Children’s Books, and Business & Management, with a stunning depth of quality emerging across all categories, representing the most influential and original voices that have enriched India's literary world. 

Reflecting on the Jury Awards shortlist, Aakash Gupta, CEO of Crossword Bookstores, said, “The Jury Shortlist represents the books that stood out for their originality, craft and impact. Each title has been carefully chosen by our esteemed jury for its contribution to contemporary writing and its ability to move, challenge, or inspire readers. These are the stories that reflect the very best of Indian literature today.”

The shortlisted books for this year's Crossword Book Awards - Jury Awards 2025 are:

Children’s Books

• The Wall Friends Club by Varsha Seshan, illustrated by Denise Antao (HarperCollins Publishers India)

• Ajay of Agumbe and the Signal Snake by Zai Whitaker, illustrated by Rajiv Eipe (Pratham Books)

• Kushti Kid by Vibha Batra (Scholastic India)

• The Body in the Swimming Pool by Shabnam Minwalla (Speaking Tiger)

• The Book of Emperors by Ashwitha Jayakumar, Illustrated by Nikhil Gulati (Penguin Random House India)

Non-fiction

• Golwalkar by Dhirendra K. Jha (Simon & Schuster India)

• Gods, Guns and Missionaries by Manu S. Pillai (Penguin Random House)

• The Lucky Ones by Zara Chowdhary (Westland Books)

• Iconoclast by Anand Teltumbde (Penguin Random House India)

• Lōal Kashmir by Mehak Jamal (HarperCollins Publishers India)

Translations

• The Day the Earth Bloomed by Manoj Kuroor, translated from Malayalam by J. Devika (Bloomsbury India)

• Mudritha by Jissa Jose, translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil (HarperCollins Publishers India)

• Our City That Year by Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell (Penguin Random House India)

• The Owl, the River and the Valley by Arupa Patangia Kalita, translated from Assamese by Mitra Phukan (Penguin Random House India) 

• Unlove Story by Sudipto Pal, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha (Seagull Books)

Fiction

• Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalvani (Bloomsbury India)

• Rising Sons by Kavery Nambisan (Penguin Random House India)

• An Unholy Drought by Madhulika Liddle (Speaking Tiger)

• Great Eastern Hotel by Ruchir Joshi (HarperCollins Publishers India)

• The Fertile Earth by Ruthvika Rao (Penguin Random House India)

Business & Management

• Ratan Tata by Thomas Mathew (HarperCollins Publishers India)

• Just a Mercenary? by Duvvuri Subbarao (Penguin Random House India)

• Behold the Leviathan by Saurabh Mukherjea & Nandita Rajhansa (Penguin Random House India) 

• The Dirty Dozen by N. Sundaresha Subramanian (PanMacmillan India) 

• Sky High by Tarun Shukla (HarperCollins Publishers) 

The literary season is reaching its climax. With the finalists now confirmed for the Jury Awards, the individual category winners will be announced on 3rd December 2025, at the official ceremony to be held at The LaLit Mumbai, where India’s top literary achievements will be celebrated.

About the Crossword Book Awards:

Instituted in 1998, the Crossword Book Awards stand among India’s most prestigious and enduring literary honors, dedicated to celebrating the country’s finest authors and stories across a wide spectrum of genres. The award endeavours to recognize the finest of Indian writing in English and actively promotes Indian authors and their books, while also fostering a culture of reading and dialogue among book lovers nationwide.

The 2024 edition spotlighted pathbreaking works across categories, showcasing both acclaimed voices and emerging talents. By celebrating established authors alongside fresh perspectives, the Awards continue to reflect the dynamism of India’s literary landscape. Over the years, the platform has become a trusted benchmark for quality writing, a champion of diverse voices, and a mirror of India’s evolving literary fabric.