The longlist features titles across five categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Translations, Children’s Books, and Business & Management. From literary mysteries and historical narratives to investigative non-fiction, picture books, and stories rooted in India’s cultural heritage, the selection brings together established literary voices alongside emerging perspectives.

Commenting on the announcement, Nidhi Gupta, Director, Crossword Bookstores, said, “This year’s longlist reflects the many ways literature continues to engage with India today. It is an incredibly strong and diverse selection of books, bringing together a wide range of voices and perspectives. We’re grateful to our jury for the thought and rigour they bring to this process.”

She added, “As we celebrate the 20th edition of the Crossword Book Awards, we hope the awards continue to bring remarkable writing to more readers and create new discoveries.”

A Look at the Crossword Book Awards 2026 Longlist

Children’s Books: Stories That Inform, Inspire and Entertain

The Children’s Books category showcases the growing range of themes in Indian children’s publishing. The selection includes books on history, ecology, sport, regional knowledge, humour, and India’s cultural heritage.

• Ancient Indians: The Amazing Story of Our Early, Earlier, Earliest Ancestors by Tony Joseph, adapted for children by Devika Cariapa, illustrated by Rajiv Eipe (Juggernaut Publications)
• Babasaheb Ambedkar: An Inspirational Life by Mukunda Rao (Westland Books)
• Giants by Huthuka Sumi, illustrated by Canato Jimo (HarperCollins Publishers India)
• If Elephants Could Talk by Ranjeeta Ram, illustrated by Damini Gupta (Hachette India)
• Lightning Kid: 64 Winning Lessons from the Boy Who Became Five-Time World Chess Champion by Viswanathan Anand (Hachette India)
• Our Rice Tastes of Spring by Anumeha Yadav, illustrated by Spitting Image (Westland Books)
• Rain Holiday by Shreya Ramachandran (Speaking Tiger)
• The White Lotus by Aditi Krishnakumar (Penguin Random House India)
• The Big Book of Poop: The Messy Science of Scat, Splat, Droppings and Dung by Shweta Taneja, illustrated by Sunaina Coelho (Juggernaut Publications)
• The War Elephants of Trigarta by Sarita Mandanna (Aleph Book Company)

Non-fiction: Exploring History, Society and Contemporary India

The Non-fiction longlist brings together books that examine India’s political history, society, culture, environment, and changing relationship with technology. The titles explore subjects ranging from the Himalayan landscape and Kashmir’s conflict to digital culture, fraud, and the politics of India’s past.

• Believer’s Dilemma: Vajpayee and the Hindu Right’s Path to Power, 1978–2018 by Abhishek Choudhary (PanMacmillan India)
• Called by the Hills: A Home in the Himalaya by Anuradha Roy (Hachette India)
• Dapaan: Tales from Kashmir’s Conflict by Ipsita Chakravarty (Westland Books)
• Scamlands: Inside the Ancient Empire of Fraud That Preys on the World by Snigdha Poonam (Penguin Random House India)
• The Dig: Keeladi and Politics of India’s Past by Sowmiya Ashok (Hachette India)
• The Secret Master: Arun Kashalkar and a Journey to the Edge of Music by Sumana Ramanan (Westland Books)
• The Great Indian Brain Rot: Love, Lies & Algorithms in Digital India by Anurag Minus Verma (Bloomsbury India)
• The Hindi Heartland: A Study by Ghazala Wahab (Aleph Book Company)
• We, the People of India: Decoding a Nation’s Symbols by T.M. Krishna (Westland Books)
• Wild Capital: Discovering Nature in Delhi by Neha Sinha (HarperCollins Publishers India)

Translations: Stories Crossing Linguistic Boundaries

The Translations category celebrates the role of translation in bringing regional literature to a wider readership. This year’s longlist features works originally written in Assamese, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, and Bangla, highlighting the richness of India’s multilingual literary traditions.

• Moonlight Saga by Arupa Patangia Kalita, translated from Assamese by Ranjita Biswas (Speaking Tiger)
• On the Banks of the Pampa by Volga, translated from Telugu by Purnima Tammireddy (HarperCollins Publishers India)
• One Million Footsteps by Jeyamohan, translated from Tamil by V. Iswarya (Juggernaut Publications)
• Our Madhopur Home by Tripurari Sharan, translated from Hindi by Arunava Sinha (Simon & Schuster India)
• Sita’s Veil by Anamika, translated from Hindi by Nishtha Gautam (Vani Prakashan)
• The Chinese Mansion by Siddique Alam, translated from Urdu by Jaideep Pandey (Hachette India)
• The Grave Exhumers and Other Stories by Lutfor Rahaman, translated from Bangla by Mursed Alam (Yoda Press)
• The Last Bench by Adhir Biswas, translated from Bangla by V. Ramaswamy (Westland Books)
• The Mapmaker by Maitry Roy Moulik, translated from Bangla by Chandana Dutta (Niyogi Books)
• Tiger Lessons by Sannapureddy Venkatarami Reddy, translated from Telugu by Narasimha Kumar (Bloomsbury India)

Fiction: Narratives of Memory, Identity and Imagination

The Fiction longlist brings together contemporary narratives that explore questions of identity, belonging, history, memory, and human relationships. The selection features a mix of literary styles and settings, reflecting the breadth of contemporary Indian fiction.

• Absolute Jafar by Sarnath Banerjee (HarperCollins Publishers India)
• Good Arguments by Deepika Arwind (Simon & Schuster India)
• Railsong by Rahul Bhattacharya (Bloomsbury India)
• Real Life by Amrita Mahale (Penguin Random House India)
• The Menon Investigation by Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari (Penguin Random House India)
• The Remnants of Rebellion by Ponnu Elizabeth Mathew (Aleph Book Company)
• The Elsewhereans by Jeet Thayil (HarperCollins Publishers India)
• The Courtesan, Her Lover and I by Tarana Husain Khan (Hachette India)
• The Way Home by Shanta Gokhale (Speaking Tiger)
• Water Days by Sundar Sarukkai (Westland Books)

Business & Management: Ideas Shaping the World of Work

The Business & Management category focuses on entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, wealth creation, and the forces influencing India’s business ecosystem. The longlist includes biographies of business leaders, books on succession planning, and discussions on innovation and the impact of global economic shifts.

• Coffee King: The Swift Rise and Sudden Death of Café Coffee Day Founder V. G. Siddhartha by Rukmini Rao and Prosenjit Datta (PanMacmillan India)
• Family And Dhanda: A to Z of Succession Planning for Founders and Successors by Srinath Sridharan (Rupa Publications India)
• Human Edge in the AI Age: Eight Timeless Mantras for Success by Nitin Seth (Penguin Random House India)
• Made in India: The Story of Desh Bandhu Gupta, Lupin and Indian Pharma by Manish Sabharwal and Sundeep Khanna (Juggernaut Publications)
• More from Less for More: Innovation’s Holy Grail by Raghunath Mashelkar and Sushil Borde (Penguin Random House India)
• Running Behind Lakshmi: The Search for Wealth in India’s Stock Market by Adil Rustomjee (Hachette India)
• Tatyasaheb: The Story of a Bombay Entrepreneur by Tejaswini Apte-Rahm (Westland Books)
• The Great Sanctions Hack by Urjit Patel (Rupa Publications India)
• The S.I.S Story: How an Accidental Entrepreneur from Bihar Created a Global Services Conglomerate by Prince Mathews Thomas (HarperCollins Publishers India)
• The Day the Chariot Moved: How India Grows at the Grassroots by Subroto Bagchi (Penguin Random House India)

Shortlists to Be Announced in October

The next stage of the Crossword Book Awards 2026 will see the announcement of the Jury Awards shortlist and the Popular Choice Awards shortlist in October. The Popular Choice Awards will give readers an opportunity to cast their votes for their favourite books.

The winners will be announced at the Crossword Book Awards ceremony in December.

Marking two decades of the awards, the 2026 longlist brings together books that engage with a range of subjects, including technology, ecology, identity, migration, entrepreneurship, and India’s cultural heritage. It also highlights the contribution of publishers, translators, illustrators, and authors to the country’s evolving literary ecosystem.

The jury for this year’s awards includes names such as Anuja Chauhan, Jyoti Malhotra, Rama Bijapurkar, Ranjit Lal, and Meena Kandasamy, representing diverse fields including fiction, journalism, business, children’s literature, and translation.