New Delhi, 4th April 2025: Oxford Bookstores declaredDevangana Dash the winner of the 10th edition of Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize at a felicitation event organized at the beautiful lawns of the India Habitat Centre.

Dash was recognized for her outstanding cover design of Conversations with Aurangzeb from Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins and written by Charu Nivedita, translated from Tamil by Nandini Krishnan.

The award winner was honored with a trophy, a certificate and a prize money of 1 Lakh Indian Rupees by a learned panel consisting of Dr. Alka Pande, Museum curator, art historian, author and jury chairperson; Dr. Shashi Tharoor, author and Member of Parliament; H.E Ms. May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway to India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, Ms. Anja Riedeberger, Director Information Services South Asia Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan; Mr. Samar Jodha, Installation Artist, Mentor, and TED speaker and Mr. Swagat Sengupta, CEO, Apeejay Oxford Bookstores, amidst designers, publishers, artists and literary enthusiasts of the industry.

Addressing the ceremony, Devangana Dash, the 10th Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize winner stated, "Thank you to the 10th edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Prize and its eminent jury for this wonderful honor and privilege. I offer my congratulations to the award committee for maintaining a space that honors good book design and encourages ongoing discussions on the visual vocabulary of books. Four of my book covers have been longlisted for this great honor over the years, and it is genuinely thrilling to get this recognition for this incredible book. In an age flooded with visuals-where one prompt can yield an image the acknowledgment of design and literary processes reminds us of the significance of conversation, argument, rejection, and the happy accidents that inform creative endeavor. Book covers are often evaluated in an instant but never appreciated or engaged with. More strength to efforts such as this one that honor the art of bookmaking and foreground the process of design. I am thankful to my publisher, HarperCollins India, for this thrilling chance and entrusting me with their books over the years.".

Apart from the prize-winning cover, two other designers were awarded by the juryfor their outstanding use of graphics and visual storytelling. The designers are Samar Bansal for the book, 'Feathers, Fools and Farts' by Puffin-an imprint of Penguin Random House; and Sharanya Kunnath for 'Epicurious' by Hachette India Children's Books.

Declaring the winner of the 10th Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize, Jury Chairperson, Dr. Alka Pande said, "I am genuinely thrilled and astonished by the outstanding breadth, diversity and unlimited creativity shown by Indian designers. Their capacity to blend storytelling, innovation, aesthetics and visual design is nothing short of phenomenal. The sheer diversity of artistic expressions, ranging from intricately detailed to boldly experimental ones, reaffirms India's design scene as hotbed of vibrancy. It is an absolute honor to witness such imaginative genius and to felicitate visionaries who keep pushing the limits of the publishing sector in India.".

The night also saw the longlist announcement for the third Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize. Dr. Alka Pande, Jury Chair, museum curator, art historian and author; H.E Ms. May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway to India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan; and Ms. Sunaina Anand, Founder and Director, Art Alive Gallery, announced the 11-longlisted book titles. These titles were awarded for their visual composition and design as a whole by the distinguished jury panel.

Established in collaboration with Visual Arts Gallery in the year 2022, Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize is India's single prize that appreciates the significance of art of all genres in the realm of an art publication. The third edition of Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize jury consists of Ambassador of Norway to India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, H.E Ms. May-Elin Stener; Director, Apeejay Surrendra Group and the creative driving force behind Oxford Bookstores, Ms. Priti Paul; Museum curator, art historian, author and chairperson of the jury, Dr. Alka Pande; Director General, Bihar Museum, Mr. Anjani Kumar Singh; Founder and Director, Art Alive Gallery, Ms. Sunaina Anand and Director, Institutional Affairs and Outreach, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), Ms. Apurva Kackar.

OXFORD BOOKSTORE ART BOOK PRIZE 2025 LONGLIST

Title- Colours of Devotion: The Legendary Paintings and Textiles of Vallabha Sampradaya 1500-1900

Publisher- Niyogi Books

Author/ Artist- Anita Bharat Shah

Title- Baby Knows Best

Publisher- HarperCollins

Author/ Artist- Shilarna Vaze

Title- F.N. Souza: The Archetypal Artist

Publisher- Niyogi Books

Author/ Artist- Janeita Singh

Title- Meditations on Trees

Publisher- Aleph Book Company

Author/ Artist- Ompal Sansanwal

Title- One Pot

▲95%

Publisher- Delhi Blue Pottery Trust

Author/ Artist- Kavita Chopra Dikshit

Title- Whose Ramayana Is It Anyway?

Publisher- Mapin Publishing

Author/ Artist- Natasha Sarkar

Title- A Thousand Shadows

Self-Published

Author/ Artist- Navin Sakhuja

Title- Kali: Reverence & Rebellion

Publisher- DAG

Author/ Artist- Gayatri Sinha

Title- Delhi Durbar: Empire, Display and the Possession

Publisher- DAG

Author/ Artist- Swapna Liddle & Rana Safvi

Title- The Babu & the Bazaar: Art from 19th and Early 20th Century Bengal

Publisher- DAG

Author/ Artist- Aditi Nath Sarkar with Shatadeep

Title- Raza: The Other Modern

Publisher- Mapin Publishing

Author/ Artist- Geeti Sen, Gayatri Sinha, Yashodhara Dalmia and Ashok Vajpeyi

Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize is a pioneering recognition for excellence in book design, and an initiative by a legendary bookstore to notice and empower the remarkable work of artists, designers and distributors across India.

Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize is a trailblazer in recognition for beauty in book cover design, and an initiative by a legendary bookstore to notice and empower the astounding work of artists, designers and distributors across India.

The award recognizes the importance of the shift of images and narrative, particularly in our irrefutably visual era, and believes that a book cover interprets and translates the resulting material in important ways that contribute to its ultimate success. With Ms. Priti Paul, Director, Apeejay Surrendra Group, at the helm, Oxford Bookstores has been breaking all rules to challenge the publishing world and honor the business of books. Key cover design is a part of the success of a book; designers and illustrators help significantly in making a book become iconic and generate remembrance. The tenth edition jury includes author and Member of Parliament, Dr. Shashi Tharoor; author, columnist and novelist, Shobhaa De; author and academic, Dr. Kunal Basu; Museum curator, art historian, author and chair of the jury, Dr. Alka Pande; Director, Apeejay Surrendra Group and creative force behind the Oxford Bookstore chain, Priti Paul and Guest Jurors, Installation Artist, Mentor, and TED speaker, Mr. Samar Jodha and Director InformationServices South Asia Goethe-Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan, Ms. Anja Riedeberger.

Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize is India's sole prize that acknowledges the worth of art in all forms under the banner of the art publication. The Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize is a pioneering partnership between Oxford Bookstores and the Visual Arts Gallery, honoring the best in art publications released in the English language. The partnership between the two institutes reflects the significance of their dedication to promoting the print practice in the art world.

Notably, the Art Book Prize specifically identifies the impact the book has had on the extensive discourse concerning art and culture. The Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize is an open call to publishers, scholars who study art and culture, collectives and independent artists resident in India who are engaged from the conceptualization process right through the production process of various categories of art publications. A renowned panel of judges would be seeking innovative ideas, critical thinking, and innovative solutions for discovering and identifying talents who are helping popularise art publishing in India and internationally.

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