Nominations invited for the 2009 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize

Last year's winner was Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif for A Case of Exploding Mangoes. Entries can be in any genre: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction (travel writing, autobiography, biography, and narrative journalism), drama. Authors from the subcontinent are eligible but the book must be published in India. Publications must be in English or translated into English from an Indian language. Books that have been published elsewhere and have already won prizes are eligible, though less likely to win. Vanity press publications are ineligible.

A 3-member advisory board will shortlist 6 books published between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. This year, the board includes writers Anjum Hasan, Zac O'Yeah and poet Jeet Thayil. The shortlisted books will be sent to the 2009 panel of judges: author Rana Dasgupta, editor Mukund Padmanabhan and Professor Meenakshi Mukherji.

The winner will be announced in the second half of November and the prize presentation will take place in December 2009. The winners will receive prize money of Rs. one lakh and a trophy.

The Shakti Bhatt Foundation is a non-profit trust set up by the late editor's family to keep her memory alive. It wishes to reward first-time authors of all ages.

For further information, contact shaktibhattprize@gmail.com