The shortlists of the 2026 Women AutHer Awards in four categories have been announced. The winners will be chosen by juries, and, in the case of the popular choice, through online voting. The winning authors will receive cash prizes of Rs 1 lakh each, with the amount being shared equally by joint winners.
Here are the complete shortlists:
Fiction
The Comeback, Annie Zaidi
Rising Sons, Kavery Nambisan
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Kiran Desai
Nonfiction
Rubber: The Social and Natural History of an Indispensable Substance, Vidya Rajan
A Man For All Seasons: The Life Of KM Panikkar, Narayani Basu
Scamlands: Inside the Asian Empire of Fraud That Preys on the World, Snigdha Poonam
Debut
Invisible in Plain Sight: Voices From the By-Lanes of Kamathipura, Swati Pandey
Lōal Kashmir: Love and Longing in a Torn Land, Mehak Jamal
Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains, Subi Taba
Children’s books
Sneaker Paati, Anita Nair
Ganesh Haloi: Colours of Home, Likla Lall
Rain Holiday, Shreya Ramachandran
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