AutHer Awards, Season 5, 2024
In 2024, I was appointed Literary Director, AutHer Awards. It was my first season but the fifth for the prestigious literary prize for women writers in India or of Indian origin. AutHer Awards is the joint initiative of JK Paper Limited and The Times of India. I am copy-pasting the speech that I delivered on the occasion.
Good evening!
I am delighted to welcome you all to AutHer Awards 2024. This is now our fifth edition — and I am very proud to say that the Auther Awards remain the only award for women writers in India. India is full of literary awards and festivals, of course, but women writing has historically been under represented. Even globally, for women writers there are only a handful of awards. For example, in the UK, there are two awards — the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Non-Fiction and the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation; in Australia it is the Stella Prize; in the USA it is the Carol Shields Prize; in the Hispanic world there is the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Literary Prize for women writers at the Guadalajara Book Fair. And in India, we have the AutHer Awards.
According to 2024 publishing data from India, it is clear that trade literature is growing across categories – fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. It is safe to say that there is an increasing contribution from women writers to the publishing ecosystem. This is unsurprising given the national gender shift. In the realm of business, startups, the economy— we are seeing huge increase in participation by the women. You only have to look at this year’s Republic Day parade to see what women power means- from the Rafaele pilots to the all-women military contingents.
The Auther Awards would not be possible without our eminent jury — all well-known and acclaimed writers themselves — who understand the literary landscape well. The rigorous process of selecting long lists and short lists is a lot of work — and believe me … also a lot of vigorous debate 🙂
So, a special thank you to our jurors: for their time, for their appreciation of the nuances of writing and for their thoughtful eye for writers and their craft.
There is a wide spectrum of writing on display today. It represents not just the traditional literary styles of fiction and non-fiction, but also — in the age of AI — cutting-edge, modern forms. In fact, some of the most powerful literature on display in these awards allows writers the space to explore the “what if” scenarios far more freely than any other structured form of writing would enable.
I have been fortunate to come from a lineage of educated and strong women — going back to the late 19th century. Women, who built eminent careers but who also successfully juggled parenting and housework… India has long had a vibrant tradition of feminism — women’s writings have been an inseparable part of it and our growth as a nation. They are also critical to our future — as I realise when I look at my 14-year-old daughter — who is here today — and the readings she encounters.
These literary awards are our effort to honour the best of India’s women writers who are doing sterling work in making the invisible visible and articulating the silences. AutHer Awards is a beacon of this shift in Indian literature. We have an incredible variety of books featured by women tonight. Each distinctive. Each worthy of being heard, seen and read.
I hope you enjoy reading and discovering the AutHer awards literature as much as we have.
Thank you!
Later, the Times of India published a full page spread in print. It was made available across the country.
The YouTube recording of the evening is:
9 May 2025
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