Exploring the longlist: Kalinga Literary Festival's 'KLF Book Awards 2025'
- Sizzling Scrapbook
- Feb 9
- 8 min read
The Kalinga Literature Festival, started in 2013, is a vibrant celebration of literature and art, held annually in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
This prestigious festival brings together renowned writers, poets, thinkers, and artists from across the globe, offering a diverse platform for intellectual discourse, cultural exchange, and artistic expression. The festival features a wide range of events, including readings, discussions, workshops, performances, and exhibitions, showcasing the rich literary and artistic heritage of Odisha and beyond.
The 11th Kalinga Literature Festival (KLF) will be held from March 21st to 23rd, 2025, at Mayfair Hotel, Bhubaneshwar. (However, the winners for the 4th Annual KLF Book Awards will be announced on 15 February 2025, at India International Centre, Delhi.)
Check out the previous KLF events: https://kalingaliteraryfestival.com/klf-in-pictures/
The Kalinga Literature Festival has established several prestigious awards to recognize literary excellence:
KLF Book Awards: aiming to honor outstanding literary works published in recent years, in various categories- fiction, non-fiction, poetry, Hindi language books, books in translation, and more.
Kalinga Literary Award: recognizes significant contributions to Indian literature by renowned writers.
Kalinga International Literary Award: honors international figures who have made significant contributions to literature and global understanding.
Kalinga Karubaki Award: This award is given to a noted Indian writer.
These awards serve to encourage literary creativity, recognize exceptional talent, and promote a deeper appreciation for literature within India and internationally
The longlist for the 4th Annual KLF Book Awards was posted on their social media channel:
English Longlist: Children's Literature
The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes
Author: Vidya Varadarajan (Other books by the author - https://amzn.to/40HCa1t)
Publisher: Scholastic India
Age: 8 -12 years
Pages: 136
Published date: 15 September 2024
The Mystery of Missing Geometry Boxes is a mystery novel, second book in the AKA Detective club mystery series. This time, the mystery revolves around the disappearance of geometry boxes from their school and two other nearby schools. As they delve deeper into the case, they uncover surprising connections and question why anyone would target geometry boxes. The trio must use their wit and teamwork to gather clues, identify the culprit, and uncover the motive behind the thefts.
The Boy with a Hundred Questions
Author: Nalini Ramachandran (Other books by the author - https://amzn.to/4hlHDkb)
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Pages: 248
Publication date: 7 May 2024
The Boy with a Hundred Questions explores the fascinating world of faith and belief systems through the eyes of a curious young boy named Shunya.
Shunya, a nine-year-old with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, spends his days pondering life's big questions under his favorite peepul tree. He wonders about the universe, the purpose of life, and the meaning of faith. His quest for answers takes him on a remarkable journey when he encounters eleven doppelgangers of his father! This unexpected twist leads him to explore various faiths and their profound philosophies.
Why the Apple Falls: Fantastic Physics for Children
Author: Swagata Deb and Sandipan Deb
Publisher: Juggernaut
No. of pages: 328
Publication date: 29 July 2024
'Why The Apple falls: Fantastic Physics for children' is a captivating journey into the world of physics, designed to spark curiosity and wonder in young minds.
This book isn't just about explaining why apples fall; it delves into a wide range of fascinating questions about the universe and the laws that govern it. The book tackles physics concepts in a way that is easy for children to understand and enjoy.
Laxmi Panda: The Story of Netaji’s Youngest Spy
Author: Savie Karnel (more books by the author https://amzn.to/40pH41V )
Publisher: Red Panda
Reading age: 10 years and above
Pages: 232
Publication Date: 24 June 2024
"Laxmi Panda: The Story of Netaji's Youngest Spy" by Savie Karnel tells the remarkable true story of a young girl who defied all odds to serve her country during World War II.
Orphaned at a young age in Burma during the war, Laxmi Panda joined the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Indian National Army (INA) at just 14 years old, becoming its youngest soldier. Under the guidance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, she transformed into a skilled spy, mastering espionage and survival techniques.
The book brings Laxmi Panda's story to life, highlighting the hardships she faced after losing her parents in a bomb attack in Burma, the daring missions she undertook as a spy, often going undercover to gather crucial information.
It's a story that will inspire young readers with its message of courage, patriotism, and the power of the human spirit. By telling Laxmi Panda's story, Savie Karnel ensures that her bravery and sacrifice will not be forgotten.
The Great Indian Nature Trail
Author: Rohan Chakravarty and Bijal Vachharajani
Publisher: Juggernaut
No. of Pages: 112
Publishing date: 30 July 2024
'The Great Indian Nature Trail with Chunmun' is a nature-focused, delightful and informative graphic novel that takes readers on a vibrant journey through India's diverse ecosystems and incredible wildlife.
It's an experience that blends captivating storytelling, stunning illustrations, and a deep passion for conservation.
Rohan Chakravarty's artwork is a major highlight. His illustrations are vibrant, detailed, and full of personality. He captures the beauty and wonder of the Indian wilderness with incredible skill, making the book a joy to look at. From the smallest insects to the largest mammals, every creature is brought to life on the page.
Save the Solar System with Nye and Friends
Author: Tanya Gawdi
Publisher: Rupa Publications
24 pages
Published on: 20 July 2024
The Couch Potato Who Said Ouch and Other Funny Stories
Author: Khyrunnisa A (Other books by the author https://amzn.to/3PHVe9P)
Publisher: Westland, Red Panda
Reading age: 8-14 years
175 pages
Publishing Date: 8 January 2024
English Longlist for Fiction Authors
Author: Somnath Batabyal
Publisher:
364 pages
Publication Date: 01 February 2024
Reading age: 18 years and up
Mother India
Prayaag Akbar,
Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life
Upamanyu Chatterjee,
Loot,
Tania James
The Girl with the Seven Lives
Vikas Swarup, Simon and Schuster India
The Enclave
Rohit Manchanda, Harper Collins India
Beneath the Devil Tree: Malabar 1921
Anjana Varma, Vitasta
Devadasi
Sangeeta Bahadur, Parchment Publications
English Longlist for Non-fiction Authors
Gods, Guns, and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity
Manu S Pillai, Penguin India
Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore’s Interregnum (1760-1799)
Vikram Sampath, Penguin India
Iru: The Remarkable Life of Irawati Karve
Urmilla Deshpande and Thiago Pinto Barbosa, Speaking Tiger Books
The Jallianwala Bagh Journals
Sarmistha Dutta Gupta, Jadavpur University Press
Imperial Games in Tibet
Dilip Sinha, Pan Macmillan India
The Sherpa Trail: Stories from Darjeeling and Beyond
Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar, Roli Books
The Diary of Manu Gandhi (1946-1948),
Tridip Suhrud, Oxford University Press
Rukhmabai: The Life and Times of a Child Bride Turned Rebel-Doctor,
Sudhir Chandra, Pan Macmillan India
Poetry
English Longlist for poetry
Yes, There Will Be Singing,
Hamraaz, Westland
I Don’t Love You Anymore,
Rithvik Singh, Penguin India
I’ll Have It Here, Jeet Thayil, HarperCollins India
The Dust Draws Its Face on the Wind, Avinash Shrestha, translated from Nepali by Rohan Chhetri, HarperCollins India
All These Streets We’ve Known By Heart, Siddharth Dasgupta, Red River Press
Freerain, Easterine Kire, Penguin India
How to Love in Sanskrit, Anusha Rao and Suhas Mahesh, HarperCollins India
The Notbook of Kabir: Thinner than Water, Fiercer than Fire, Anand, Penguin India
Debut Book
The Many Lives of Syeda X: The Story of an Unknown Indian, Neha Dixit, Juggernaut
Glass Bottom, Sonali Prasad, Pan Macmillan India
Girls Who Stray, Anisha Lalvani, Bloomsbury India
The Lucky Ones: A Memoir, Zara Chaudhary, Westland
The Foresighted Ambedkar, Anurag Bhaskar, Penguin India
Code Dependent, Madhumita Murgia, Picador (Pan Macmillan)
Chronicle of an Hour and a Half, Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari, Westland
English Longlist for Translation Authors
Maria, Just Maria, Sandhya Mary, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil, HarperCollins India
The Solitude of a Shadow, Devibharathi, translated from Tamil by N Kalyan Raman, HarperCollins India
Ten Days of the Strike: Selected Stories, Sandipan Chattopadhyay, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha, HarperCollins India
Our City That Year, Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell, Penguin India
Boy Unloved, Damodar Mauzo, translated from Konkani by Jerry Pinto, Speaking Tiger Books
Limited/Unlimited, Sankar translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha, Bloomsbury India
The Day the Earth Bloomed, Manoj Kuroor, translated from Malayalam by J Devika, Bloomsbury India
The Essential Ghalib, Anisur Rahman, HarperCollins India
Business Books
Digital Fortunes: A Value Investor’s Guide to the New Economy, Smarak Swain, Bloomsbury India
Capitalism to Peopleism: Inspiring a Leadership Transformation, Ravi Chaudhry, Simon and Schuster India
Amrut – the Great Churn: The Global Story of India’s First Single Malt, Sriram Devatha Westland
Lilliput Land: How Small is Driving India’s Mega Consumption Story, Rama Bijapurkar, Penguin India
The Tanishq Story, CK Venkataraman, Juggernaut
Dharmanomics: An Indigenous and Sustainable Economic Model, Sriram Balasubramanian, Bloomsbury India
Insightful Inc.: How to Build an Insightful and Consumer-centric Organization, Manish Makhijani, Jaico Publishing House
Let’s Talk Legacy, Monika Halan, HarperCollins India
Hindi Longlist for Fiction Authors
Vanya by Manisha Kulshreshtha https://amzn.to/40zAHuf
Koi Hai Jo : Aur Anya Kahaniyan by Devi Prasad Mishra https://amzn.to/4giOs5j
Kissagram by Prabhat Ranjan https://amzn.to/40AI4kW
Dasasmedh by Vimal Chandra Pandey https://amzn.to/3WmBXOI
Poornahuti by Sarvesh Tiwari ‘Shreemukh https://amzn.to/40BA9Uw
Atar by Pratyaksha https://amzn.to/4jhXHFo
Hindi Longlist for Non-fiction Authors
Borsi Bhar Aanch by y Yatish Kumar https://amzn.to/4jjejww
Over The Top "ओवर द टॉप" : OTT ka Mayajaal Book in Hindi - Anant Vijay https://amzn.to/42hESMk
Pathik Main Aravali Ka by Bhanwar Meghwanshi https://amzn.to/3DTSG5C
Godavan : More Angana Ki Son Chiraiya by Kabeer Sanjay https://amzn.to/4hmT4rX
Hindi Navjagran : Itihas, Galp Aur Stree-Prashn by Garima Srivastava https://amzn.to/3WmG8dB
Gaanv Se Bees Postcard by Shiv Balak Misra (Author), Neelesh Misra (Author) https://amzn.to/3CqfI3D
Jawaharlal Hazir Ho/जवाहरलाल हाज़िर हो: Jel Ki Salakhon Ke Peechhe Pandit Nehru Ke 3259 Din by Pankaj Chaturvedi https://amzn.to/4gVKvEw
Professor Ki Diary by Dr. Laxman Yadav https://amzn.to/4arymoC
Hindi Longlist for Debut Authors
Mukhbir (Short Stories) by Colonel Sushil Tanwar https://amzn.to/4g7N4lE
Tabhi Hamne Apna Pedpan Kho Dia by Mudit Shrivastava https://amzn.to/42dB7rs
Chakka Jaam by Gautam Choubey https://amzn.to/3E0H8h6
Prayashchit by Ashwani Pratap https://amzn.to/4ash4HJ
Chandghati Ki Anaro by Savita Sharma Nagar https://amzn.to/4auW3MM
Mutah : Ek Shodhparak Adhyayan by Naish Hasan https://amzn.to/42iTYS3
Hindi Longlist for Poetry
DHARM WAH NAAV NAHIN by Shirish Kumar Mourya https://amzn.to/4gZgm7o
EAK AANKH KOUNDHATI HAI: by Vinod Padraj
Aathwein Maale Par Swadhishthan by Chinmayi Tripathi https://amzn.to/3PDP9uS
Vasna Ek Nadi Ka Naam Hai by Savita Singh https://amzn.to/3PGijti
Waqt Zaroorat by Avinash Mishra https://amzn.to/4gZBme2
Main Aksar Sochta Hoon by Neelesh Misra https://amzn.to/4jiOFYP
Mere Aasaan Jhooth by Dwarika Uniyal https://amzn.to/4an3vcx
Nadi Ka Marsiya To Pani Hi Gayega by Keshav Tiwari https://amzn.to/40ErkcS
Hindi Longlist for Translation
Charu, Chivar Aur Charya by Pradeep Dash https://amzn.to/4hfK9s0
Jeevan me Aseemit Anand pane ki kala (In Love with Death) by Satish Modi https://amzn.to/40B1G8O
The Great Hindu Civilisation (Hindi) - Mahan Hindu Sabhyata: Uplabdhiyaan, Upeksha, poorvgrah aur Aage ka Rasta by Pavan K. Varma https://amzn.to/4jpeJlc
Tuka Akash Jitna : Poems by Sant Tukaram by Sant Tukaram (Author), Translate: Rajendra Dhodapkar https://amzn.to/4arHSbk
Chaakoo (Super Crunch) by Salman Rushdie https://amzn.to/3Cdwy5P
Himalaya Ek Khoj: Lama, Sant aur Nastik by Namita Gokhale (Author), Prabhat Ranjan (Translator) https://amzn.to/40CbX4m
Mahagatha : Puranon se 100 kahaniyan Satyarth Nayak (Author), Ashutosh Garg (Translator) https://amzn.to/4g2qJpI
Hindi Longlist for Children Literature
Chaand Pizza by Anurag Verma
Krishna Vasudev : Ek Sachitra Upanyas by by Alok Bajpai (Author), Illustrator : Pranoy Basak (Author), Editor/Translator : Ishita Sehgal (Editor) https://amzn.to/3PLgxXK
Saur Mandal ki Sair by Sarita Saraf Alankrita Amaya https://amzn.to/3Wqi8X3
Board book
Bilingual book introducing basic science concepts
Includes its free audio book version
20 pages
Gopi Ki Diary
by Sudha Murty
Published in 2020, Gopi ki diary is a story of a puppy narrating his life with his adopted family.
Magic Box (Hindi)
by Anulata Raj Nair, Deepak Hira Ranganath, Anita Sethi, Deeksha Chaudhary, Neelesh Misra https://amzn.to/40FM7wk
A collection of stories
Gada Tola by Rahi Dumarchir https://amzn.to/40ldwmc
Hamare Bachche Banen Achchhe Book by Lal Devendra Kumar Srivastava https://amzn.to/4hj70TK
Dilli Ki Kahani by Apurva Virmani Johri (Author), Pranav (Illustrator) https://amzn.to/40lJFtB
Comments