The Shakti Bhatt Foundation announces the 2009 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize shortlist:
If It is Sweet, Mridula Koshy (Westland-Tranquebar)
Arzee the Dwarf, Chandrahas Choudhury (HarperCollins)
Evening is the Whole Day, Preeta Samarasan (HarperCollins)
Hotel at the End of the World, Parismita Singh (Penguin)
Eunuch Park, Palash Krishna Mehrotra (Penguin)
Baulsphere, Mimlu Sen (Random House)
Atlas of Impossible Longing, Anuradha Roy (Picador)
Poet Jeet Thayil, a board member, said, "It was a very good year for first books, with many strong contenders. I think the following books deserve special mention, because they came close to making the shortlist: Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin and Curfewed Night by Barsharat Peer."
The 2009 panel of judges, novelist Rana Dasgupta, editor Mukund Padmanabhan and critic Meenakshi Mukherjee, will choose the winner, who will receive Rs. 1 lakh and a trophy at a presentation event in New Delhi in December 2009.
The Shakti Bhatt Foundation is a non-profit trust set up by the late writer/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
