Translations of works by Anand, Benyamin and Sachin Kundalkar are among the 15 writers on the longlist for the USD 50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature announced in New Delhi on Monday.
Anand and Benyamin has been chosen for their Malayalam works “Book of Destruction” and “Goat Days” translated by Chetana Sachidanandan and Joseph Koyippalli respectively, while Marathi filmmaker Sachin Kundalkar’s debut book “Cobalt Blue” has been translated into English by Jerry Pinto.
The long list culled from over 65 entries, includes 4 debut novels along with the works of established writers.
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Others from the subcontinent who made it into the list include Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan), Nadeem Aslam (Pakistan) and Nayomi Munaweera (Sri Lanka).
The winner from a shortlist, to be revealed on November 20 in London, will be announced at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2014.
Literary critic Antara Dev Sen, who chaired the jury said “the longlist for the Prize offers a wonderful variety of experiences from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.”
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“The novels range from the conventional to the experimental, from amazing tales sprawling across continents and generations to stories brilliantly detailed in a small, almost claustrophobic canvas.
The theme of the books range from violence -- many about war, terrorism, conflict, many examine migration, caste or sexual identity, terror, alienation.
“Through extraordinary storytelling and sensitivity, these novels offer us a sense of history, a sense of loss and the invincibility of hope,” she said.
The other members of the jury comprise Arshia Sattar, translator, writer and teacher; Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director of Oxford University Press in Pakistan; Rosie Boycott, acclaimed British journalist and editor; and Paul Yamazaki, a veteran bookseller from the U.S.
The list includes Cyrus Mistry (Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer), Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya (The Watch), Manu Joseph (The Illicit Happiness of other people) Mohsin Hamid (How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia), Nadeem Aslam (The Blind Man’s Garden) Nayomi Munaweera (Island of a Thousand Mirrors) Nilanjana Roy (The Wildings), Philip Hensher (Scenes from Early Life), Ru Freeman (On Sal Mal Lane), Shyam Selvadurai (The Hungry Ghosts), Sonora Jha (Foreign) and Uzma Aslam Khan (Thinner Than Skin).
The Prize has previously been won by H M Naqvi for Home Boy, Shehan Karunatilaka for “Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew” and by Jeet Thayil for “Narcopolis”.