Shashi Tharoor, Sudha Murty, Ruskin Bond, Soha Ali Khan , Benyamin & Prayaag Akbar win big at the 16th Crossword Book Award

Mumbai : The prestigious 16th Crossword Book Award in association with Shoppers Stop, Home Stop and Kotak Mahindra Bank witnessed a remarkable literary event, celebrating Indian writing in English at the majestic Royal Opera House - Mumbai.

The Crossword Book Award comprises of a total of 10 awards in popular and jury categories.

Dr. Shashi Tharoor prolific author was conferred the Crossword Lifetime Achievement Award by Lord Meghnad Desai, for his exemplary contribution to Indian literature.

A celebrity dialogue between Gaur Gopal Das and Soha Ali Khan was organized for the first time at the Crossword Book Awards. Moderated by veteran business journalist Arijit Barman, the panel discussed the theme #ReadingIsGood.

Accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Shashi Tharoor said, “I started my literary journey with fiction, and then moved to non-fiction. Crossword Bookstores has always stood for the pleasure of reading- which everyone in this audience has experienced. Books have an unparalleled ability to take you places. "

Handing over the award to Dr. Shashi Tharoor was the Chief Guest, Lord Meghnad Desai, a celebrated author, academician, economist and politician. 

Presiding over the awards, Lord Desai said, "It is nice to be at the Crossword  Book Awards today because I have spent most of my life either in bookstores or libraries. I have also acted in a bit role with Soha Ali Khan," he said to thunderous applause.

Rajiv Suri, Vice Chairman – Crossword Bookstores Ltd, and Customer Care Associate, MD & CEO, Shoppers Stop Ltd.commented, “The Crossword Book Awards was conceived 16 years ago with an aim to recognise our Indian authors who have immensely contributed to the country’s flourishing literary culture. The independent jury has worked incredibly hard to assemble this year’s list, which recognises exceptional literary talent and ranges from debut writers to established novelists. My colleagues and I would like to congratulate each of the shortlisted authors who have made it to this year’s esteemed award list.” 

Following were the awardees in each category

WINNERS: POPULAR AWARD

Fiction: The Boy Who Loved, Durjoy Datta

Non-fiction: Three Thousand Stitches: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives, Sudha Murty

Biography: The Perils of Being Moderately Famous, Soha Ali Khan

Business and Management: Catalyst, Chandramouli Venkatesan

Health and Fitness: You’ve Lost Weight: The Easy Guide to Receiving this Compliment Every Day, Dr. Sarita Davare & Sanjeev Kapoor

Children: Looking for the Rainbow: My Years with Daddy, Ruskin Bond 

Prashant Tandon –SVP Product alliances & partnerships- Kotak Mahindra Bank , Social media phenomenon Mallika Dua and Schauna Chauhan, CEO ParleAgro gave away the awards. 

WINNERS: JURY

Fiction:  Leila by Prayaag Akbar
Non-fiction: Dreamers by Snigdha Poonam
Children: Unbroken by Nandhika Nambi
Translation:  Jasmine Days by Benyamin, translated by Shahnaz Habib 

Thanking the audience, Maulik Desai, Head, Crossword Bookstores Ltd said, India has the second largest English speaking population in the world, The prose writing created by Indian writers, in English language, is proving to be a strong, significant global force. The Crossword Book Awards, since 1998, are a tribute to this organic, emergent force, and I am happy to see our tribe growing." 

The presence of authors Manu S Pillai, Radhakrishnan Pillai, Ira Mukhoty,  Vithal Nadkarni, Mickey Mehta, Zeba Kohli, Anand Neelakantan, Rita Chowdhary, Benny Daniel, Perumal Murugan,  and actor Divya Dutta added gravitas to the evening.