Kalinga Literary Festival announces longlist for 2025 book awards

Bhubaneswar, Jan 16: The Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) has unveiled its longlisted titles in English and Hindi for the prestigious KLF Book Awards, honoring excellence across genres such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s literature, business, translations, and debut works. The shortlist will be revealed on January 30, 2025, with winners announced on February 15, 2025, at IIC, New Delhi. The Odia longlist will follow in early February.

The awards, celebrating literary brilliance, feature 15 categories across English, Hindi, and Sanskrit. Four exceptional Odia works will be recognized during the KLF in Bhubaneswar, March 21-23, 2025. Each winner will receive ₹1 lakh.

The English longlist includes Vikas Swarup’s The Girl with the Seven Lives, Upamanyu Chatterjee’s Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life, Manu S. Pillai’s Gods, Guns, and Missionaries, and Tania James’s Loot, among others. In Hindi, notable entries include Anant Vijay’s Over the Top: OTT ka Mayajaal, Neelesh Misra’s Gaanv Se Bees Postcard, and Garima Srivastava’s Hindi Navjagran.

KLF received over 2,000 nominations, underscoring the event’s impact. Founder Rashmi Ranjan Parida stated, “The awards spotlight transformative works shaping our future.” CEO Ashok Kumar Bal emphasized, “KLF bridges languages and cultures, fostering appreciation for literature.”

With its commitment to promoting India’s literary and cultural heritage, the KLF Book Awards remain a beacon of recognition for outstanding storytelling and ideas.