AutHer Awards 2025, Season 6

AutHer Awards is the joint initiative of JK Paper Limited and The Times of India. It is my honour and privilege to be the Literary Director of the prestigious AutHer Awards, the only award for women writers in India. Our country is full of literary awards and festivals, of course, but women writing has historically been underrepresented. 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.

The writers represent not just the traditional literary styles of fiction and non-fiction, but also 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. The books shortlisted at the AutHer 2025 give reading pleasure and are thought-provoking. At the same time, they, hopefully, provoke readers to think differently and for themselves. The wonderful authors who have written them range from teenagers to those on the higher side of fifty. They have written across a breathtaking array of diverse genres — from picture books, to nonfiction, young adult novels, stories across faiths, folktales, climate fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, memoirs, biographies, histories, war reporting, short stories, multi-generational sagas and mythologies.

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. We also live at a time of great churn in the world of books with AI disrupting how we consume knowledge and the written word. Despite these tectonic technological changes, the book publishing market is expected to surpass — USD 224.14 Billion by 2034. The rising usage of digital devices like smartphones and tablets is driving the market growth for book publishing. Consequently, e-books, audiobooks, and other digital forms are becoming more popular. Women writers have a critical role to play in this evolution. In fact, the first author to be successful using newly developed digital options in 2011 was E. L. James. Her self-published Fifty Shades of Grey went viral as an e-book. At that time, the emergence of Kindles and iPads ensured that people could read erotic literature written by a woman without being judged by others, particularly when reading in public. It was such a roaring success that when Random House bought it (2012) their employees were given a Christmas bonus of $5000 each[1] from sales to editorial to distribution. Till date, she has sold more than 165 million copies of her books.

In 1992, Prof. G N Devy made the observation that print technology had diminished the existing oral traditions. Folk singers, actors and authors such as the legendary singer Ila Arun are pivotal in bridging oral traditions and the performing arts with the print form. This human connect between various contact zones is significant in cultural mixing and in the evolution of a society. Now we have AI.  It is here to stay. But writers write. They ideate. They comment. They capture the zeitgeist.

This year the Chief Guest for the AutHer Awards gala event was the 2022 International Booker Prize Winner and wonderful bilingual writer —Hindi and English —Geetanjali Shree. Addressing the audience, she said, “I think it’s wonderful what AutHer Awards is doing— rewarding and recognising women and their work. It is not about seg­regating women and separat­ing them from men but setting right a balance, which has been going wrong for a long time. It is about shift­ing the margins and periphery and bring­ing women to the cen­tre and the mainstream community.” Reiterating her belief, she said, “No award goes to any single person; an award actually lights up a whole world around that person and shows what we are all capable of.”

The Guest of Honour was noted folk-pop singer, actress, playwright, and author Ila Arun. She said it beautifully that kavita (poetry), kahani (story), lekhni (pen), and siyahi (ink), belong to the female gender. So, when a woman chooses to express herself via her words, she cannot stop herself at all. She continued, “Ink, pen, and paper are extremely important to me. Even though we exist in a technology-driven world, my room is still filled with papers, because that is only how I can express myself. I have tried to give voice to women in my own way. I have been engaged with theatre for the past 42 years.” She added, “I am more connected to paper than I am to music; my connection to singing is purely incidental.” As the Literary Director, I echo Ms. Arun’s sentiment. I am a techno-optimist but I too am a firm believer in writing, using pen and paper, so that the neural synapses are rewired. However much, neural technologies may try and ape the human brain, they simply cannot. Books will endure because creativity powers machine, and not the other way round.

The AutHer Awards platform was created with the specific intent to celebrate the women storytellers. It is a vibrant literary space that within a few years of its establishment has made a mark for itself. Past winners have included Sonora Jha, Sudha Bhardwaj, Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni, Farah Bashir, Preeti Shenoy et al. The Lifetime Achievement Award has been given to literary giants like Prof. Romila Thapar, Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande, Nayantara Sahgal, and Mridula Garg.

The literary prize categories are: Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Debut Author, and Best Children’s Author (8+ and above). The Best Manuscript category encourages girls (14-18 years) to submit their unpublished manuscripts for consideration. The winner is awarded a publishing contract. The books submitted for the awards are recommended by publishers, authors, and readers. It allows for a rich mix of writing, beyond those that generated a buzz. This is an open call to assess literary merit. The submissions are audited to ensure that they meet the eligibility requirements including that the book has been published in the specific time period, confirming the existence of a print edition (not digital print/POD), and the author’s Indian nationality must be Indian, irrespective of their domicile.

AutHer Awards would not be possible without our eminent jurors, renowned for their intellectual heft and the depth of their work in the industry. This year, Season 6, we had for Fiction: Sahitya Akademi winner Esther David, Betty Trask winner Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, and popular writer and documentary filmmaker Trisha Das, Non-Fiction: eminent linguist who has led the People’s Linguistic Survey of India and Padma Shree Prof. G. N. Devy, Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar winner and historian Manu Pillai, and award winning writer and World Bank economist Shrayana Bhattacharya, Debut: Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer Anita Nair, chef Suvir Saran, and writer/translator Sutapa Basu and Children’s Literature: former two-time parliamentarian and a Trustee Chairperson of the Nargis Dutt Foundation Priya Dutt, award-winning writer and filmmaker Devashish Makhija, and Anasuya Vaidya, Director, Akshara Theatre. The Popular Award is determined by the number of votes garnered online.

We had an incredible shortlist and it was challenging for the jurors to pick winners. In fact, at times, two winners were selected for a single category, as it was considered a fair representation of the variety of creativity in the particular genre.

The 2025 winners were: Fiction: Namita Gokhale (Never, Never Land, Speaking Tiger Books) and Tania James (Loot, Penguin Random House India). Non-Fiction: Aruna Roy (The Personal is Political: An Activist’s Memoir, HarperCollins Publishers India) and Alpa Shah (The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon and the Search for Democracy in India, HarperCollins Publishers India). Debut: Nayanima Basu (The Fall of Kabul: Despatches from Chaos, Bloomsbury India). Children’s Literature: Andaleeb Wajid (The Henna Start-up, Duckbill, Penguin Random House India) and Kripa (Art is a Love). Popular Choice: The votes were tied for Astha Gill’s STM: Student-Teacher Meet and Divsargun Kaur’s Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. Tista Hijli’s manuscript won for Alchemy of Love and Indrani A. Deo’s was the runner’s up with for The Last Seven Hours.

The AutHer Awards Season 6 witnessed an overwhelming response, with a rigorous selec­tion process ensur­ing only the finest liter­ary works were recog­nised. A total of 2465 entries were received across all catego­ries, reflecting the vibrant literary land­scape. Harsh Pati Sing­hania, chairman and managing director, JK Paper said, “Sto­ries have the power to tran­scend time, challenge per­spectives, and ignite change. Tonight, as we gather for the sixth edi­tion of the AutHer Awards, we celebrate not just literature but the fearless voices behind it— the women who dare to write, to ques­tion, and to inspire.” The president and director, JK Paper, A.S. Mehta, discussed the over­whelming response to the event and emphasised the importance of writers for society in his address. He said, “We have been talking about the sto­ries, which stretch far beyond words. They are, in fact, the creative thoughts and writings, which not only make a difference in society but leave a last­ing footprint for a newer world. So, I must com­pliment all the writ­ers, who are giving a new direction to the society and creating a new world in time to come.”

Shanta Gokhale, the celebrated Indian author, translator, journalist, and theatre critic, who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, discussed the importance of celebrat­ing words of women in her address. She said, “By and large feminists, and I’m a feminist, prefer to be categorised as writers rather than women writers. The fight for equality continues; for many of us, it means the fight for the right to live, to begin with, and then to be fed and schooled. It is of prime importance that as women inch forward in life and gain the freedom to let their talents flow, there are special awards like this waiting to acknowledge their unique genius.”

AutHer Awards 2025, Season 6, was an evening to remember with a packed hall with people standing at the back. It was a phenomenal experience! I hope you enjoy reading and discovering the AutHer awards literature as much as we have.

Jaya Bhattacharji Rose

Literary Director, AutHer Awards

Jaya Bhattacharji Rose has been working in the publishing industry since the early 1990s. She has worked with literary magazines, independent presses, women’s presses, multinational firms, and academic journals. She is the co-founder of Ace Literary Consulting, a literary agency that only looks at the best of the best literature across genres. As an international publishing consultant focused primarily on the business of publishing, she works with publishing firms on their business strategies and strategic partnerships, conceptualises programmes, and writes commissioned reports. She is also the Literary Director, AutHer Awards, established by the Times of India and JK Paper Mills. She is the host of the popular weekly Times of India podcast on literature and publishing called TOI Bookmark. The guests featured have been national and international authors including Jnanpith, Padma Bhushan, & Padma Shri awardees, Nobel Laureates, Booker Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, BAFTA awardees, diplomats, bestselling authors, debut writers, and legendary writers, across genres and languages. The podcast is distributed on Spotify too. She is also the curator, books section, Moneycontrol.com, India’s foremost fintech and news platform. During the pandemic, in June 2021, she conceptualised the Scholastic Writers Academy, wherein students are mentored in online creative writing workshops. Till date, more than 100 workshops have been conducted, with over 3000+ students and some adults have been mentored, their short stories published in print anthologies and made available through online retailers. Participants have registered from across India but also abroad — the USA, the UK, the Middle East, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand.
She is a blogger on the business of publishing and books. Her blog has received more than 7.8+ m visitors.

[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fifty-shades-of-grey-publisher-awards-5000-bonuses/