Indian author Arefa Tehsin, Nepali-Indian author Smriti Ravindra, and American author VV Ganeshananthan have made the “Asian Trio” of the 2024 Asian Prize of Fiction awarded by The Asian Committee. The winner will be determined by composite criterion, encompassing book club-based selections, a public poll, and evaluation by the Asian Committee, which consists of five permanent members and three rotating members annually.

The books on the shortlist are:

  • Brotherless Night, VV Ganeshananthan.
    The novel is set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s civil conflict and is a historical fiction living in the present times.

  • The Witch in the Peepul Tree, Arefa Tehsin.
    It is Makar Sankranti,1950, when sixteen-year-old Sanaz's body is discovered in her father Dada Bhai's house in Bohrawadi, Udaipur. As the shadows grow long, it becomes clear that something sinister walks the halls of this grand old house. What unfolds is a genre-bending tale of suspense, intrigue and something so much darker.

  • Woman Who Climbed Trees, Smriti Ravindra.
    In this eloquently crafted narrative of migration and self-discovery, Meena initiates a journey to ascertain her true identity while adapting to her new life in Nepal.