Registration Opening Soon
Literary Excellence · English & Hindi & Regional
India's most anticipated literary honours — celebrating the finest writing in English, Hindi and regional languages.
Awards across 10+ categories recognising authors, poets, debut writers and publishers.
The BLF Book Awards are the flagship literary honours of the Banaras Lit Fest, created to recognise books that expand the possibilities of Indian writing and deepen public engagement with literature.
Conceived as a permanent literary institution rather than a festival feature, the awards bring English, Hindi, and Scheduled Indian languages into the same critical conversation, affirming that Indian literature is a confluence of many voices, traditions, and imaginative worlds.
The awards are shaped under the guidance of Deepak Madhok (President), Brijesh Singh (Founder & Secretary), and Ashutosh Kumar Thakur (Awards Coordinator & Literary Curator).
Books across categories & languages
Wide recognition of outstanding works
Close reading & jury deliberation
Independent jury final assessment
Banaras Lit Fest | Kashi Sahitya Kala Utsav
Celebrating Excellence in Indian Literature
Literature has always been one of India's greatest civilisational strengths. Across languages, regions, and traditions, books preserve memory, challenge established ideas, inspire imagination, and deepen society's understanding of itself. The Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards were instituted to give exceptional books meaningful public recognition through a credible, transparent, and independent process, while creating a national platform that brings writers, publishers, translators, scholars, and readers into closer conversation.
As part of the 5th Banaras Lit Fest, the Third Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards 2027 will honour outstanding literary works published in India and celebrate the richness of contemporary writing in Hindi and English. Building on the confidence earned over the past two editions among authors, publishers, translators, and readers, the awards have emerged as a respected independent literary honour that recognises excellence while encouraging meaningful dialogue across India's diverse literary traditions.
The awards recognise excellence across Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Translation in both Hindi and English, with a special award dedicated to outstanding literary work in other Indian languages. Beyond recognising individual books, the awards seek to encourage literary innovation, strengthen the culture of reading, promote translation across languages, and celebrate voices that enrich India's intellectual and cultural landscape.
Nominations Open — 15 August 2026The Third Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards 2027 aim to recognise outstanding books published in India, honour excellence across literary genres, support emerging and established voices, promote translation, and strengthen public engagement with reading, writing, and literary culture.
The Bhartendu Harishchandra Lifetime Achievement Award honours an eminent writer, scholar, translator, or literary figure whose lifelong contribution has significantly enriched Indian literature and strengthened the country's cultural and intellectual traditions.
The Kalidas Award for Indian Languages honours an exceptional literary work in any Indian language beyond the regular Hindi and English award categories. It reflects the Banaras Lit Fest's commitment to celebrating India's multilingual literary heritage and recognising excellence across the country's diverse literary traditions.
The Vivekanand Youth Writer Award recognises an outstanding literary contribution by an author aged 35 years or below. Instituted to encourage emerging literary voices, the award honours writing that demonstrates originality, artistic excellence, intellectual promise, and the potential to make a lasting contribution to Indian literature.
The Third Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards will be guided by an eminent and independent jury comprising distinguished writers, poets, translators, scholars, critics, and literary practitioners. The jury will evaluate eligible nominations, prepare longlists and shortlists, and recommend winners in accordance with the stated criteria and the awards' commitment to fairness, credibility, and literary excellence.
The jury will evaluate all nominated books solely on the basis of literary merit, originality, intellectual depth, language, style, and contribution to contemporary literature. The evaluation process will remain rigorous, transparent, and independent.
Books first published in India between 1 January 2025 and 31 October 2026 shall be eligible for consideration. The awards are meant for absolutely new books only; reprints, revised reprints, revised editions, and previously published works shall not be eligible.
Publishers may nominate up to four titles in each category. The awards are open to books published in Hindi and English.
Publishers submitting nominations shall provide completed nomination details, author and translator information where applicable, publication details, and the required number of copies or digital review copies as specified by the Awards Secretariat. All submissions must reach the Awards Secretariat within the announced nomination period to be considered eligible.
For each nominated book, publishers shall send one physical copy, clearly mentioning the relevant award category, by registered post to: Brijesh Singh, Flat No. 306, KGR Popular Apartment, Paharia–Ashapur Road, Varanasi – 221007, Uttar Pradesh, Mobile: +91 78601 23456.
A PDF copy of the nominated book should also be shared with the Awards Secretariat at curator@banaraslitfest.org.
The Third Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards will follow a structured, transparent, and time-bound evaluation process, beginning with publisher nominations and continuing through longlisting, shortlisting, final jury deliberations, winner announcements, and the awards ceremony.
At each stage, the process will be managed to ensure fairness, credibility, and excellence in literary evaluation.
Each winner in the competitive award categories will receive a cash prize of INR 51,000, a trophy, a citation, and media and promotional support through Banaras Lit Fest and its media partners.
The Lifetime Achievement Award carries a cash prize of INR 1,00,000, along with a Trophy and Citation.
Banaras Lit Fest has emerged as one of India's significant literary and cultural festivals. Rooted in the timeless civilisational heritage of Kashi, the festival brings together writers, poets, translators, scholars, artists, journalists, diplomats, policymakers, publishers, entrepreneurs, and readers for conversations that celebrate literature, ideas, democracy, culture, and the arts.
The 5th Banaras Lit Fest, to be held from 4 to 7 February 2027 at Hotel Taj, Banaras, will feature more than 500 writers, artists, scholars, public intellectuals, and performers, over 75 literary conversations and panel discussions, participation from more than eleven Indian languages, major international authors, book launches, cultural performances, heritage walks, and the Third Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards.
The festival enjoys the support and collaboration of the Sahitya Akademi, the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and leading publishing houses and several other literary institutions.
The Third Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards 2027 are being organised under the leadership of the Banaras Lit Fest Trust and Organising Committee.
President, Banaras Lit Fest
Founder & Secretary, Banaras Lit Fest
Treasurer, Banaras Lit Fest
Curator & Coordinator, BLF Book Awards, Banaras Lit Fest
The Awards Secretariat, under the guidance of the President, Founder and Secretary, Curator, and the independent jury, will oversee publisher outreach, nomination management, jury coordination, communications, and the successful conduct of the Third Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards 2027. Its work will support a transparent, fair, and professionally managed awards process.
Situated in Kashi, one of the world's oldest living centres of learning, philosophy, and culture, the Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards draw inspiration from a city that has nurtured scholarship, poetry, debate, and creative expression for centuries. The awards seek to build a lasting literary institution that celebrates books not merely as publications but as enduring contributions to India's intellectual and cultural life.
Through the Third Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards, the festival reaffirms its commitment to recognising literary excellence, encouraging translation across languages, supporting writers and publishers, and strengthening India's diverse literary ecosystem. As the festival continues to expand nationally and internationally, the Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards aspire to become one of India's most respected literary honours, celebrating books that shape public discourse and enrich the collective imagination.
The Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards invite publishers, authors, translators, readers, and literary institutions to join in celebrating books that expand imagination, deepen public discourse, and carry forward India's rich literary traditions.
