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. The longlist announcement of the eighth edition was aligned with the celebration of the 100 glorious years of Oxford Bookstore. This remarkable evening witnessed a delightful dance performance by renowned Kathak dancer, Leena Malakar and her disciple Swarnali Nag.

Celebrating the announcement of the longlist of Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize 2023, Priti Paul, Prize Jury member and Director Apeejay Surrendra Group said, “Resilience, Innovation and Creativity in the recent times of turmoil and lockdown, are strikingly apparent in this year’s longlist of excellent book covers reiterating that artistic expression constantly evolves in times of crises. It has been very exciting, indeed, to encounter so much style and substance in the outstanding entries wherein aesthetics continue to celebrate originality, creativity and reflect reality.  The Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize is a significant initiative to support and encourage the art of Book Cover Design., and help take it to the next level.”

Chair of Jury, Dr. Alka Pande said, “As we move into our 8th edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize it is a pleasure to see the added diversity of the book covers, and the increasing energy and creativity going into the making of book covers. It has been quite exhilarating, indeed, to encounter so much style, aesthetics and substance in the outstanding entries received this year. Each book jacket that has made it to the longlist celebrates originality, creativity and reflects reality”.

The shortlist for the award will be unveiled at Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) in January 2023, while the winner will be announced in Delhi a few weeks later.

LONGLIST – EIGHTH OXFORD BOOKSTORE BOOK COVER PRIZE 

Nominated book- Birdwatching: A Novel

Name of the Publisher- Aleph Book Company

Name of the Designer- Bena Sareen

Name of the Author- Stephen Alter

Nominated book- Memory Police

Name of the Publisher- DC Books

Name of the Designer- Leeza John

Name of the Author- Yoko Ogawa

Nominated book- Shakti, An exploration of the Divine Feminine

Name of the Publisher- Dorling Kindersley India

Name of the Designer- Priyanka Thakur

Name of the Author- Nilima Chitgopekar

Nominated book- Boys Don’t Cry

Name of the Publisher- Ebury Publishing

Name of the Designer- Akangksha Sarmah

Name of the Author- Meghna Pant

Nominated book- The Lesbian Cow and Other Stories

Name of the Publisher- Eka 

Name of the Designer- Bhavya/Saurabh Garge

Name of the Author- Indu Menon

Nominated book- The Illuminated: A Novel

Name of the Publisher- FourthEstate

Name of the Designer- Bonita Vaz-Shimray

Name of the Author- Anindita Ghose

Nominated book- Gods, Giants and Geography of India

Name of the Publisher- Hachette India Children’s Books

Name of the Designer- Sharanya Kunnath

Name of the Author- Nalini Ramachandran

Nominated book- Onam in a Nightie

Name of the Publisher- HarperCollins

Name of the Designer- Anujath Sindhu Vinaylal

Name of the Author- Anjana Menon

Nominated book- Who’s Not Afraid of Z? Not Me!

Name of the Publisher- HarperCollins Children's Books

Name of the Designer- Allen Shaw

Name of the Author- Lubaina Bandukwala

Nominated book- Onyoder Jiban

Name of the Publisher- Jadavpur University Press

Name of the Designer- Trinankur Banerjee

Name of the Author- Neel Mukherjee

Nominated book- Pebble Monkey

Name of the Publisher- Jadavpur University Press

Name of the Designer- Paramita Brahmachari

Name of the Author- Manindra Gupta

Nominated book- Kankabati Kalpabigyan Lekheni

Name of the Publisher- Kalpabiswa Publications

Name of the Designer- Ujjwal Ghosh

Name of the Author- Various Authors, Edited by Yashodhora Raychaudhuri, Ankita and Dip Ghosh

Nominated book- Metronama: Scenes from the Delhi Metro

Name of the Publisher- Lotus

Name of the Designer- Shikhar Gaur

Name of the Author- Rashmi Sadana

Nominated book- India: A Story Through 100 Objects

Name of the Publisher- Lustre 

Name of the Designer- Sneha Pamneja

Name of the Author- Vidya Dehejia

Nominated book- Motherland: Pushpamala N's Woman and Nation

Name of the Publisher- Lustre 

Name of the Designer- Advaita Vats

Name of the Author- Monica Juneja & Sumathi Ramaswamy

Nominated book- Growing up Jewish: Synagogues, Customs, and Communities from the Bene Israel to the Art of Siona Benjamin

Name of the Publisher- Niyogi Books

Name of the Designer- Misha Oberoi

Name of the Author- Ori Z. Soltes

Nominated book- How the Earth got its Beauty

Name of the Publisher- Puffin 

Name of the Designer- Cover design by Akangksha Sarmah & Devangana Dash / Cover illustration by Priyanka Pachpande

Name of the Author- Sudha Murty

Nominated book- Tirahe Par Teen

Name of the Publisher- Rajpal & Sons

Name of the Designer- Archana Jain

Name of the Author- Rajni Gupt

Nominated book- A Paradox of Dreams

Name of the Publisher- Readomania Publishing

Name of the Designer- Sourish Mitra

Name of the Author- Harshali Singh 

Nominated book- Invisible Empire

Name of the Publisher- Viking

Name of the Designer- Ahlawat Gunjan

Name of the Author- Pranay Lal

Nominated book- The Muslim Vanishes

Name of the Publisher- Vintage

Name of the Designer- Antra

Name of the Author- Saeed Naqvi

About Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize

The Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize is a first-of-its-kind honour for splendour in book design, and an endeavour by an iconic bookstore to perceive and empower the phenomenal work of artists, designers and distributors crosswise over India. The new prize acknowledges the significance of the adjust of illustrations and story, especially in our undeniably visual age, and trusts that a book cover translates and interprets the resulting content in critical ways that add to its definitive achievement. Under the guidance of Ms. 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.