Adiga, Meera nominated for DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Authors Aravind Adiga and K.R. Meera along with five other Indian authors have made it to the longlist of the seventh DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017 for their books 'Selection Day' and 'The Poison of Love' respectively.

The longlist includes a total of 13 authors from across the South Asian countries which include three from Pakistan, two from Sri Lanka and one American writer based in India apart from seven Indian authors.

The other authors who have been selected are Anjali Joseph for 'The Living', Anosh Irani for 'The Parcel', Anuk Arudpragasam for 'The Story of a Brief Marriage', Ashok Ferrey for 'The Ceaseless Chatter of Demons', Hirsh Sawhney for 'South Haven', Karan Mahajan for 'The Association of Small Bombs', Omar Shahid Hamid for 'The Party Worker', Perumal Murugan for 'Pyre', Sarvat Hasin for 'This Wide Night', Shahbano Bilgrami for 'Those Children' and Stephen Alter for 'In the Jungles of the Night'.

This year's longlist comprises three debut novels and two translated entries where the original writing has been in Tamil and Malayalam.

"There were no such criteria for the longlist. The selection has been purely made on the basis of the literary quality, the writing skill and how much the writer has succeeded in communicating his or her writing to the readers," Ritu Menon, Jury Member, said at an event here on Thursday.

Menon added that the longlist comprises of novels that highlight fresh ideas and unique perspectives.

"South Asian authors are already making a prominence in world literature and the DSC Prize is another step to highlight the efforts and the talents that the authors have," she noted.

This year, the committee received 69 nominations.

Out of the 13 authors, the shortlist comprising of five authors will be announced next month at the London School of Economics. Award money of $25,000 will be given to the winner whose name will be announced on November 18 during the Dhaka Literary Festival.

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