AutHer Awards 2023 Announces Shortlisted Nominees

The AutHer Awards is a fantastic program to honor and support female authors.

on Mar 15, 2023

A distinguished panel of judges unveiled today's shortlists for the AutHer Awards 2023 for the best female authors in fiction, nonfiction, children's literature, and debut. The Times of India received a whopping 2000 plus entries submitted by publishers and individual authors for the coveted award, the first of its kind in India.

The AutHer Awards, a collaboration between JK Paper and The Times of India, honor female writers who have contributed to the literary world with their talent and value. The jury considered books by women published in India between December 2021 and November 2022.

Sonali Bendre Behl, an actress and author of fiction, author Vikram Sampath, debut author Priti Paul, and author Ranjit Lal, an author of children's books, served as the chairs of the AutHer Awards jury.

Jury Chair for the Fiction category Sonali Bendre Behl commented on the awards: "The AutHer Awards is a fantastic program to honor and support female authors. Being the chair of the fiction book jury is an honor because this is my favorite genre, and this year's selection was wonderful to read. There were many fresh perspectives and literary idioms, each with a unique flavor. I wish all the authors luck since several had wonderfully crafted sentences that truly spoke to me."

Ranjit Lal, the chair of the jury for the children's category, said of the shortlisted books: "An eclectic collection of stories that should encourage children to bury their noses in books! Nowadays, mythology is a popular topic among writers of children's books. The race amongst the top three finishers was quite tight!

And Vikram Sampath, the chair of the jury for the nonfiction category, remarked, "It was a true honor to preside over the nonfiction jury of the unique and first-ever AutHer Awards, which honors the greatest women authors in modern India. The large and diverse selection of books in this category, including biographies, history, memoirs, and contemporary societal concerns and politics, fascinated Ramesh Sharma, Prabha Chandran, and myself as jury members.

The other jury members are Lillete Dubey (debut), Sunit Tandon (debut), Swati Roy (children's category), Dalbir K Madan (children's class), Jonathan Gil Harris (nonfiction), Ramesh Sharma (fiction), Prabha Chandran (nonfiction), and Lillete Dubey (debut).

Vinita Dawra Nangia, Literary Director - AutHer Awards, claims, "The AutHer Awards are a fantastic celebration of a woman's ability to wield her pen (metaphorically, of course!) The fact that there are more submissions each year assures us that more and more women are using writing to express themselves and share their stories. Although winning prizes isn't the point of writing, the AutHer Awards support and honor all female writers.