The 10th edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize announced its longlist in New Delhi on 3 December, recognizing 26 outstanding book covers from a diverse range of genres. The Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize that honors splendor in book design is an endeavor by the Oxford Bookstores to perceive and empower the work of artists, designers and distributors.
The prize acknowledges the significance of illustrations and story, and trusts that a book cover translates and interprets the resulting content in critical ways that add to its definitive achievement.
Museum curator and jury chair Alka Pande; author and member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor and guest jurors Samar Jodha, installation artist, mentor, and TED speaker and Anja Riedeberger, director, information services South Asia Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, unveiled the longlist in the presence of publishers, designers, authors and literary enthusiasts.
The wide-ranging interests of jurors Priti Paul, Shobhaa De, Kunal Basu, Shashi Tharoor, Alka Pande along with guest jurors Samar Jodha and Anja Riedeberger helped to create a diverse perspective to select the longlist from over 200 eligible entries.
This year’s longlist showcases the talent of Indian graphic designers who created captivating book jackets that resonate with readers. The 26 longlisted books represent a tapestry of literary works, ranging from fiction, non-fiction to poetry and children’s books. This year’s longlist includes Hindi and Bengali books, apart from English entries.
A discussion was held on Shashi Tharoor’s new book A Wonderland of Words, published by Aleph Book Company. Tharoor and journalist and author Marya Shakil explored the world of words, concepts, and nuances that define the English language.
Tharoor shared, “The English language is full of sayings and proverbs against what we are doing – Never judge a book by its cover, All that glitters is not gold, and Beauty is only skin deep. All these proverbs tell us not to look at external appearances and judge what’s inside. And yet the truth is – we human beings are so superficial that’s exactly what we do. If the cover is unattractive, many good books go unread. Book designing is a very important part of the publishing process because the designer’s job is to sell the book. It’s their job to get the book in the hands of the reader and thereafter we hope that the reader is inspired to read the book.”
The longlist for the 10th Oxford Book Cover Prize:
A Lost People’s Archive: A Novel by Rimli Sengupta, published by Aleph Book Company. Cover designed by Bena Sareen
A Woman Burnt by Imayam and translated into English by GJV Prasad, published by Simon & Schuster. Cover designed by Sukanya Ghosh
Becoming Goan by Michelle Mendonça Bambawale, published by Ebury- an imprint of Penguin Random House. Cover designed by Aakriti Khurana and illustrations by Pearl D’Souza
Bomkeshi Limerick by Prasenjit Dasgupta, published by Kalpabiswa Publications. Cover designer Ujjwal Ghosh
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and translated into Bengali by Sayak Dutta Chowdhury, published by Kalpabiswa Publications. Cover designed by Ujjwal Ghosh
Chronicle of an Hour and a Half by Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari, published by Context- an imprint of Westland Books. Cover designer Zainul Abid
Conversations with Aurangzeb: A Novel by Charu Nivedita, published by Perennial- an imprint of HarperCollins. Cover designed by Devangana Dash
Dream Machine by Appupen and Laurent Daudet, published by Context- an imprint of Westland Books. Cover designed by Appupen
Epicurious by Sreelata Menon, published by Hachette India Children’s Books. Cover designed by Sharanya Kunnath
Feathers, Fools and Farts: Manipuri Fokltales Retold by L Somi Roy and Thangjam Hindustani Devi, published by Puffin- an imprint of Penguin Random House. Cover designed by Samar Bansal and illustrations by Sapha Yumnam
Filmi Stories by Kunal Basu, published by Penguin Random House. Cover designed by Pinaki De
For Now, It Is Night by Hari Krishna Kaul, published by Perennial- an imprint of HarperCollins. Cover designed by Amit Malhotra
From Makaras to Manticores by C G Salamander, published by Hachette India. Cover designed by Sheena Daviah
How to Love in Sanskrit by Anusha Rao and Suhas Mahesh, published by HarperCollins Publishers India. Cover designed by Rashmi Gupta
Mahi: The Elephant Who Flew Over the Blue Mountains by Anand Neelakantan, published by Harper Children Fiction- an imprint of HarperCollins. Cover designed by Subhadeep Roy
Namma Bangalore: The Soul of a Metropolis by Shoba Narayan, published by Rupa Publications. Cover designed by Rachita Rakyan
Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers by Sharmistha Mukherjee, published by Rupa Publications. Cover designed by Amrita Chakravorty
Quarterlife: A Novel by Devika Rege, published by Fourth Estate- an imprint of HarperCollins. Cover designed by Edmund Spitz
Shahjahanabad: Mapping a Mughal City by Swapna Liddle, published by Lustre- an imprint of Roli Books. Cover designed by Sneha Pamneja
Shifting Lands, Moving People: Livelihood, Migration, Climate Change and Natural Disasters in the Indian Sundarbans by Samantak Das, Gautam Gupta, and Sugata Hazra, published by Jadavpur University Press. Cover designed by Kawshik Aki
Stolen Hours and Other Curiosities by Manjula Padmanabhan, published by Hachette India. Cover designed by Bhavi Mehta
Strings by Reema Sherin, published by The Write Order. Cover designed by Sankhasubhro Nath
The Greatest Indian Stories Ever Told edited by Arunava Sinha, published by Aleph Book Company. Cover designer Bena Sareen
Two Forms of Art by Mohammed Osama, published by Indiepress- an imprint of Westland Books. Cover designed by Sankhasubhro Nath
Vanya by Manisha Kulshreshtha, published by Rajpal & Sons. Cover designed by Archana Jain
Yaarekh edited by Anamika Anu, published by Penguin Swadesh- an imprint of Penguin Random House. Cover designed by Shahbaaz Khan
The shortlist will be announced at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival scheduled from 10 to 12 January 2025 in Kolkata. The winner will be announced in Delhi in March 2025.
