Valley of Words (VoW), the not-for-profit organisation dedicated to honouring Indian authors, has announced the Shortlist for the VoW Book Awards 2025. The awards will be presented during the 9th Valley of Words Literature and Arts Festival in Dehradun on October 25–26, 2025.
“This year, we received over 500 entries from 50 publishers, reflecting the diversity of Indian writing,” said Dr Sanjeev Chopra, Festival Director. “Since 2025 marks 25 years of Uttarakhand’s formation, our shortlist pays special attention to stories from the hills.”
The awards span 8 categories: English and Hindi Fiction and Non-Fiction, Translation (English and Hindi), Young Adult, and Children’s Literature. A shortlist of 5 books per category was selected from an initial longlist of 10.
Highlights include Ananda by Karan Madhok, Rukhmabai by Sudhir Chandra, Never Never Land by Namita Gokhale, Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada, Vaanya by Manisha Kulshreshtha, and Cactus Wants a Hug by Neil Flory.
“The selection reflects powerful voices across regions and languages,” said Smriti Ravindra, jury member for English Fiction. “It’s exciting to see so many fresh narratives and untold histories come to light.”
The jury for each category includes past VoW winners such as Manoj Mitta, Uday Prakash, Dr Jaiwanti Dimri, Subhash Neerav, Shabnam Minwalla, and Vibha Batra.
Each winner will receive INR 1 lakh, a VoW trophy, and a dedicated session at the festival.
“Our goal is to not just award great writing, but to bring it closer to readers,” added Dr Chopra.