The prestigious Banaras Lit Fest has officially released the longlist for its highly anticipated 2026 Book Awards. This announcement marks a significant moment for India's literary community, spotlighting the finest works published in the year 2025 across a vibrant spectrum of genres and languages.
A Celebration of Literary Excellence Across Genres
The awards are designed to honour outstanding achievement in four core areas: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and translation. By including both authors and translators, the festival celebrates the entire ecosystem that contributes to India's rich and continually evolving literary landscape. The longlist itself presents a compelling mix, bringing together revered, established names and exciting new voices, thereby reflecting the true depth and dynamism of contemporary Indian writing.
The awards are presented in two major language categories: English and Hindi. Each category features four distinct awards named after literary giants.
The English Category Awards & Nominees
The English longlist features contenders for four prestigious awards:
The Ruskin Bond Award for Fiction sees notable entries like Zahid Rafiq's 'The World With Its Mouth Open', Jeet Thayil's 'The Elsewherians: A Documentary', and Keshava Guha's 'The Tiger’s Share', among others.
The Sarojini Naidu Award for Poetry includes works such as Easterine Kire's 'Freerain', Arundhati Subramaniam's 'The Gallery of Upside Down Women', and Meena Kandasamy's 'Tomorrow Someone Will Arrest You'.
For The Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award for Non-Fiction, the longlist boasts titles like Peggy Mohan's 'Father Tongue, Motherland', Pico Iyer's 'Learning from Silence', and Sam Dalrymple's 'Shattered Lands'.
The Rabindranath Tagore Award for Translation highlights crucial translation work, featuring Sankar's 'Limited / Unlimited' translated by Arunava Sinha, and 'The Dead Fish' by Rajkamal Choudhary, translated by Mahua Sen.
The Hindi Category Awards & Contenders
The Hindi longlist is equally robust, celebrating the depth of literature in the language:
The Premchand Award for Fiction lists works including Mamta Kalia's 'Doorasth Dampatya', Ambar Pandey's 'Matlab Hindu', and Pankaj Dubey's 'Ishq Baaki'.
The Kabir Award for Poetry features poets like Arun Kamal ('Rangsaz ki Rasoi'), Udayan Vajpeyi ('Pagal Ganitagya ki Kavitayen'), and Nishant ('Jab Cheezen Der Se Aati Hain Jeevan Mein').
In non-fiction, The Rahul Sankrityayan Award includes Parag Mandale's 'Gandhi ke Bahane', Sudhir Pachauri's 'Hindi Sahitya ke 75 Varsh', and Anand Pradhan's 'News Channelon ka Jantantra'.
The Mahadevi Verma Award for Translation showcases translated works into Hindi, such as Ramachandra Guha's 'Sabhyata ke Kone' translated by Anil Maheshwari, and Shashi Tharoor's 'Ambedkar: A Life' translated by Amresh Dwivedi.
Next Steps and Prize Details
The literary journey for these nominated works is far from over. The festival organisers have confirmed that the shortlist will be announced on January 17, 2026. Following this, the final winners will be revealed on January 21, 2026.
Each award winner will receive a substantial cash prize of 51,000 rupees, along with a commemorative trophy and a certificate. The awards will be presented during the Banaras Lit Fest, adding to the celebratory atmosphere of the event. For further updates and detailed information, the public is encouraged to visit the official Banaras Lit Fest website or follow their social media channels.
