The Crossword Book Award (formerly known as the Crossword Book Award (1998–2003), the Hutch Crossword Book Award (2004–07), the Vodafone Crossword Book Award (2008–10), the Economist Crossword Book Award (2011–13), Raymond & Crossword Book Award (2014–present))Vodafone Crossword Book Award
at

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

. is an Indian book award hosted by

Crossword Bookstores Crossword Bookstores Ltd. is an Indian chain of bookstores in Mumbai. As of today, Crossword has stores in Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kohima, Kolkata, Kanpur, Kozhikode, ...

and their sponsors. The Award was instituted in 1998 by Indian book retailer

Crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answ ...

with the intention of competing with The Booker Prize,

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

The Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made hi ...

History and administration

According to the website of the Crossword Bookstore, :"While several Indian writers have won awards abroad, we had observed that there was no equivalent award in India. We therefore decided to take on the role of encouraging and promoting good Indian writing and instituted the Book Awards, in 1998. It is the only Indian award that not only recognizes and rewards good writing but also actively promotes the authors and their books." Nominations are on the basis of sales as tracked by Crossword, and the eventual winners are chosen based on a public poll that's partly online and partly real world (voting at Crossword outlets). As of 2018, the awards consist of (3

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

or $3,000) for winners in the jury award category, and (1

or $1,500) for winners in the popular choice category. The award was initially for a single work of fiction by an Indian citizen. In 2000, an additional prize was offered for an Indian writing in any Indian language translated into English. There was no award between 2001–03. Starting in 2004 the award was sponsored by

Hutch Essar Vodafone India (formerly Vodafone Essar Ltd, Huchison Essar Ltd) was the Indian subsidiary of UK-based Vodafone, Vodafone Group plc and was a provider of telecommunications services in India with its operational head office in Mumbai. As of Mar ...

an Indian telecommunications company and called the Hutch Crossword Book Award. Starting in 2006 additional categories of a nonfiction prize and a popular award, voted on by the public, were added. Starting in 2008, Hutch Essar was purchased by English telecommunications company

Vodafone Group Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vodafon ...

and the award was called Vodafone Crossword Book Award. Beginning in 2011 through 2013, it was sponsored by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' in association with

Principal Mutual Funds Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level i ...

and

Standard Chartered Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 9 ...

, and renamed the Economist Crossword Book Award. Beginning in 2014, it was sponsored by the

Raymond Group Raymond Group is an Indian branded fabric and fashion retailer, incorporated in 1925. It produces suiting fabric, with a capacity of producing 31 million meters of wool and wool-blended fabrics. The group owns apparel brands like Raymond, Ra ...

Winners

Previous winners.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Crossword Book AwardCrossword BookstoresCrossword Bookstores
on

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Indian literary awards Awards established in 1998 Translation awards 1998 establishments in India