City author’s book shortlisted for prestigious award

Chennai-based journalist and author Pradeep Damodaran finds mention among the likes of Amitav Ghosh and Shashi Tharoor, with his book Borderlands: Travels Across India’s Boundaries being shortlisted for the Raymond Crossword Book Award.

Borderlands traverses through the stories of ten sleepy towns and desolate villages standing at the edges of India, and the people who inhabit them. Other works nominated in the same category are The Great Derangement by Amitav Ghosh, Age of Anger by Pankaj Mishra, A Feast of Vultures by Josy Joseph and An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor.

Incepted in 1998, the Raymond Crossword Book awards honour authors in both Jury and Popular categories. The shortlist for the jury category was released on December 19, and offers a delectable range of the country’s bestknown authors.

The fiction shortlist comprises Murder in Mahim by Jerry Pinto, The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan, Savithri’s Special Room and Other Stories by Manu Bhattathiri, Things to Leave Behind by Namita Gokhale and Harilal and Sons by Sujit Saraf.

The jury shortlist also comprises a children’s category and translations category. In 2016, for the first time, Raymond Crossword Book Award introduced the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was conferred upon Ruskin Bond at the hands of the legend, Gulzar.