PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The 9th edition of Valley of Words (VoW)-Sabadabali:International Literature and Arts Festival will be held in Dehradun on October 25-26 at Hotel Madhuban to honour the eight selected winners of the REC-VoW Book Awards (VBA) 2025.
Stating this, festival director Sanjeev Chopra said that VoW-Shabdabali is thrilled to announce the eight winners of the REC-VoW Book Awards 2025, celebrating the finest works in English literature, Hindi literature and writings for young adults and children. Each VBA Winner will receive a prize of Rs one lakh, along with a citation and participation in a panel discussion at the festival finale in Dehradun on the respective dates.
Chopra said that over 600 nominations were received for 2025 from 75 publishing houses across the country. The selection process for the books involves three stages, with the shortlist and winners chosen by the VBA winners from the previous year.
He added that the festival will not only showcase the interactions with the authors of the winning books but will also include various sessions, such as a military session and others. He said that, as in previous years, the response from publishers has been very positive. He also extended gratitude to all the Jury Members for their careful reading and insightful selections. Each of the books chosen this year possesses ambitious themes that help us better understand ourselves and the world around us.
Chopra further informed that the winning books include a total of eight out of which three are Hindi fiction. The list includes “Swallowing the Sun” by Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri (Aleph), Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India” by Karan Madhok (Aleph), Lavanyadevi by Kusum Khemani, translated from Hindi by Banibrata Mahanta (Orient BlackSwan), Suno Kabir by Soni Pandey (Lokbharti), Bidaai De Ma! by Sudhir Vidhyarthi (Rajpal & Sons), Art is a Voice by Kripa (ArtsIntegrated), and Cactus Wants a Hug by Neil Flory (Hachette), he said.
