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Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize announces its Eighth Edition


on Sep 07, 2022
Oxford Bookstore Book Cover

7th September 2022, New Delhi: Oxford Bookstores announced the much-awaited Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize and opened entries for the eighth edition. The eighth edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize is chaired by esteemed jurors, well-known Indian politician, writer, and Member of Parliament, Dr. Shashi Tharoor; prominent author, Indian columnist, and novelist, Shobhaa De; renowned author, Dr. Kunal Basu; Director, Apeejay Surrendra Group and the creative force behind Oxford Bookstores, Priti Paul and author, academician and well-known museum curator, Dr. Alka Pande. The jury members are all pre-eminent in their particular fields and share a love and commitment to books and reading. The varied interests of the jurors will help create a rich and diverse perspective for the selection.

Instituted in March 2015 by Oxford Bookstores, the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize year after year has gained traction as the most prestigious award in the book cover design industry. It is a first-of-its-kind award for brilliance in book design, an endeavor by the iconic bookstore to recognize and encourage the extraordinary work of illustrators, designers, and publishers across India. The prize appreciates the importance of the balance of graphics and narrative, particularly in our increasingly visual age, believing that a book cover interprets and illustrates the ensuing text in crucial ways that contribute to its ultimate success. Over the last seven editions, the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize has evolved and gained towering success and enormous popularity as the most prestigious book cover design award in the publishing industry.

Under the guidance of Priti Paul, Director, Apeejay Surrendra Group, Oxford Bookstores has been pushing all boundaries to encourage the publishing industry and celebrate the business of books. Standout cover design is an integral part of the success of a book, designers and illustrators play a vital role in helping a book become emblematic and create recall. 

Announcing the eighth edition of the Prize Jury member and Director Apeejay Surrendra Group, Priti Paul said, “The eighth edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize will reflect the ever-evolving art of book cover design, along with the outstanding style, substance, originality, and aesthetics which have been its hallmark over the years.

Greatest creative ideas can emerge at the most difficult times, and the COVID—19 pandemic has inspired several artistic breakthroughs during this period.  We look forward keenly to the choices of our eminent jury.”

Chair of Jury, Dr. Alka Pande said, “As Oxford Bookstore celebrates its 100 years, its stellar initiative of hosting the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize comes of age. The Book Cover Prize ensures value creation with due recognition to the designers, artists, and illustrators. Book covers do play an enormous role in defining the essence of the books. In this post-pandemic world, we look forward to receiving more astounding creative book cover designs from Indian Publishing and designers across the country.”

In its first year, Bena Sareen was awarded the prize for the book, ‘Talking of Justice’ by the late author, Leila Seth, published by Aleph. The following year designer Pinaki De bagged the prestigious award for the book ‘Kalkatta’ authored by Dr. Kunal Basu and published by Picador India. The third Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize was awarded to Maithili Doshi Aphale for the book ‘Himalaya’ edited by Ruskin Bond and Namita Gokhale, and published by Speaking Tiger. In the fourth year, the prize was awarded to Bonita Vaz Shimray for the book ‘Remnants of a Separation by Aanchal Malhotra published by HarperCollins. The fifth edition prize was handed over to Sneha Pamneja for ‘Tiffin’, published by Roli Books. Graphic Designer Gunjan Ahlawat was awarded the prestigious award in the sixth edition of the book ‘Gun Island’ by Amitav Ghosh, published by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Random House. The seventh edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize was awarded to Ishan Khosla for the book ‘Kintsugi’ by Anukrti Upadhyay published by the FourthEstate an imprint of HarperCollins.

The Longlist, Shortlist, and Winner announcement of the eighth edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize will be held in a series of events scheduled in Delhi and Kolkata, besides an exhibition of the shortlisted book covers will be displayed at Oxford Bookstore, Connaught Place.

Covers of titles by designers of Indian origin and published between April 2021 and March 2022 are invited to apply for the eighth edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize. Entries are welcomed until 5th October 2022. 

About Oxford Bookstore: Established in 1919, Oxford Bookstore is one of the oldest heritage bookstores in the nation. It is India’s only bookstore to curate multiple literary festivals like Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob, and Hindi Sahitya Utsav. The Oxford Bookstore not only offers book lovers access to the very best books and ambience but also India’s first-of-its-kind tea boutique, Cha Bar. At Oxford Bookstores, success is measured by the smiles on millions of happy readers that the brand has served over the last 100 years. Each time you walk into our iconic store in Kolkata, its old-world charm leaves you enchanted and desiring for more. Our fleet of ‘happy to help’ knowledgeable booksellers and conversant hosts work round the clock to bring to our vendees a world-class reading experience. Be it through our books or our fine teas we abide by the brand’s motto – Much more than a bookstore – at every Bookstore.

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