The jury for the sixth JCB Prize for Literature is revealed

One of India's most coveted literary prizes, the JCB Prize for Literature, which is entering its sixth year, reveals the members of its 2023 panel. Author and translator Srinath Perur will serve as the jury's chair. The jury is made up of the playwright and stage director Mahesh Dattani, the author, critic, and learning designer Somak Ghoshal, the novelist and surgeon Kavery Nambisan, and journalist and filmmaker Swati Thiyagarajan.

The jury brings a variety of perspectives to the process of choosing the greatest fiction from India for the year, representing a variety of origins, languages, and literary genres. The JCB Prize for Literature is supported by JCB India Ltd, the largest producer of construction and earthmoving machinery in India, and is managed by the JCB Literature Foundation.

Commenting on this year's jury, Mita Kapur, Literary Director of the JCB Prize for Literature, says, "Last year has truly been a milestone year for us. For the first time, our jury put forth a shortlist that was all translations. India speaks and reads in so many languages, and the books that are submitted for the JCB Prize are a true representation of many India's that reside within one. The 2023 jury brings together immense experience from a diverse range of backgrounds, languages, art forms, and mediums of expression. With their precise gaze and nuanced understanding of storytelling, we are confident that the jury will read, evaluate and find gems from the submissions that are entered this year, that will be truly coveted by book lovers in India and beyond."

"I am happy to be part of the jury for the JCB Prize for Literature 2023. It represents an opportunity to celebrate books that speak to our times and bring to notice books that may have been unfairly overlooked. In this regard, I particularly appreciate the Prize's efforts at encouraging publishers to send in translations. It ensures that the field truly represents the range of Indian novels brought out in English over the past year. As a reader I'm looking forward to discovering books I may never have picked up outside of jury duty, and collectively expanding our horizons - one of those things that literature manages to do so well," says Srinath Perur, Chair of the 2023 jury.

The jury will announce the longlist of ten titles in September, followed by the shortlist of five titles in October 2023. The winner of the Rs 25 lakh prize will be announced at the awards ceremony in November 2023. If the winning work is a translation, the translator will be awarded an additional Rs 10 lakh. Each of the five shortlisted authors will receive Rs 1 lakh; if a shortlisted work is a translation, the translator will receive Rs 50,000.