JCB Prize for Literature: Leela Samson is jury head

CHENNAI: The

JCB Prize for Literature

has announced the

jury

for this year’s prize. The panel will be chaired by Bharatanatyam dancer, author and former Sangeet Natak Akademi chairwoman Leela Samson.

The rest of the panel includes writer Aruni Kashyap, cultural theorist Tejaswini Niranjana, playwright Ramu Ramanathan and the

head

of the Arts & Culture portfolio at Tata Trusts, Deepika Sorabjee.

“We hope the prize will encourage readers to look at India’s vast literary culture - in translation, in Indian languages, and in English with renewed excitement,” says Leela Samson.

The jury will announce the longlist of ten titles on September 1, followed by the shortlist of five titles on September 25. The winner of the Rs 25 lakh prize will be announced at the awards ceremony in November.

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.