Mumbai, October 13, 2026: Crossword Bookstores has announced the Jury Awards shortlist for the 20th edition of the Crossword Book Awards, recognising 25 books across five categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Translations, Children’s Books, and Business & Management.
Selected by the juries from the 50 titles longlisted in September, the shortlist features five books in each category. It reflects the breadth of Indian writing, bringing together different voices, subjects and literary traditions, with translations opening regional works to a wider readership.
Nidhi Gupta, Director of Crossword Bookstores, noted: “This year’s shortlist is a celebration of the strength and diversity of Indian writing. Our jury has selected titles that not only elevate the conversation around Indian literature but also demonstrate why these stories matter now.”
The shortlisted titles for the Crossword Book Awards 2026 Jury Awards are:
1. Fiction
● Absolute Jafar by Sarnath Banerjee (HarperCollins Publishers India)
● Railsong by Rahul Bhattacharya (Bloomsbury India)
● The Menon Investigation by Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari (Penguin Random House India)
● The Remnants of Rebellion by Ponnu Elizabeth Mathew (Aleph Book Company)
● Water Days by Sundar Sarukkai (Westland Books)
2. Non-fiction
● Believer’s Dilemma by Abhishek Choudhary (Pan Macmillan India)
● Dapaan by Ipsita Chakravarty (Westland Books)
● Scamlands by Snigdha Poonam (Penguin Random House India)
● The Dig by Sowmiya Ashok (Hachette India)
● Wild Capital by Neha Sinha (HarperCollins Publishers India)
3. Translations
● On the Banks of the Pampa by Volga, Translated from Telugu by Purnima Tammireddy (HarperCollins Publishers India)
● Sita’s Veil by Anamika, Translated from Hindi by Nishtha Gautam (Vani Prakashan)
● The Chinese Mansion by Siddique Alam, Translated from Urdu by Jaideep Pandey (Hachette India)
● The Mapmaker by Maitry Roy Moulik, Translated from Bangla by Chandana Dutta (Niyogi Books Private Limited)
● Tiger Lessons by Sannapureddy Venkatarami Reddy, Translated from Telugu by Narasimha Kumar (Bloomsbury India)
4. Children’s Books
● Giants by Huthuka Sumi, Illustrated by Canato Jimo (HarperCollins Publishers India)
● If Elephants Could Talk by Ranjeeta Raam, Illustrated by Damini Gupta (Hachette India)
● Our Rice Tastes of Spring by Anumeha Yadav, Illustrated by Spitting Image (Westland Books)
● The White Lotus by Aditi Krishnakumar (Penguin Random House India)
● The Big Book of Wild Poop by Shweta Taneja, Illustrated by Sunaina Coelho (Juggernaut Publications)
5. Business & Management
● Family and Dhanda by Srinath Sridharan (Rupa Publications India)
● Made in India by Manish Sabharwal, Sundeep Khanna (Juggernaut Publications)
● Running Behind Lakshmi by Adil Rustomjee (Hachette India)
● Tatyasaheb by Tejaswini Apte-Rahm (Westland Books)
● The S.I.S Story by Prince Mathews Thomas (HarperCollins Publishers India)
The Popular Choice Awards shortlist, featuring bestselling books in English by Indian authors, will be announced next. Voting opens on 26 October 2026, giving readers the opportunity to support their favourites. Alongside the Jury Awards, the Popular Choice Awards recognise the books that readers have embraced, bringing both literary assessment and reader enthusiasm into the celebration.
Winners across the Jury Awards and Popular Choice Awards will be announced at the Crossword Book Awards ceremony in December 2026.