The George Garrett Fiction Prize: Judge’s Choice selected by Kaveh Akbar
A woman seeks liberation from her bad luck and learns that magic can work too well. A lonely teacher befriends a beautiful moon bird. A cynical student discovers meaning in an temple with milk-drinking Ganeshas. Beautiful drawings in a servant girl's secret diary lead to a Godwoman’s ashram. The eight luminous stories in The Vanishings explore the space between presence and absence, where bodies fade, memories dissolve, and the self slips away.
Set against the vivid backdrop of South India, these tales follow characters grappling with magic fairness creams, giant birds who remember childhood games, and dinner parties lit by fireflies and laughter in the dark. With gentle humor and unflinching insight, The Vanishings examines what we lose when we're still here—to colorism, class divides, dementia, and the weight of others' expectations.
Tender, strange, and deeply human, these stories illuminate all the versions of ourselves we leave behind. Sometimes, what vanishes makes room for the transcendent.
Recommended by Conde Nast Traveller, India
Nominated for the AuthHer Prize
Will we make it?
That’s the question Kavitha and her cousin, Pallu, ask themselves as they trek through Himalayan pine forests and unforgiving mountains in Nepal and Tibet. Their goal: To reach Mount Kailash and lake manasarovar.
The two women walk to ancient monasteries, meditate on freezing slopes, dance on the foothills of Kailash and confront death in the thin mountain air. In Kailash and manasarovar, the holiest of Hindu and Buddhist sites, they struggle to reconcile their rationalist views with faith and the beloved myths of their upbringing. Remarkably, it is this journey that helps them discover the meaning of friendship.
Walking in Clouds is a beautifully crafted memoir of a journey to Faraway places and to the places within. It mixes lyrical, descriptive storytelling with stunning photographs to bring to life a unique travelogue.
Work, Wisdom, Legacy is an anthology of original essays compiled and edited by former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy with Ravi Menon, Shaji Vikraman, and Kavi Yaga. The book addresses a profound question: how can those who began their careers shortly after Independence bridge the generational gap with their 21st-century grandchildren?
Thirty-one eminent Indians—including Narayana Murthy, P. Chidambaram, Arun Shourie, and Usha Thorat—reflect on their professional journeys across banking, public policy, media, and academia. Through the lens of "Intellect, Industry, and Integrity," they offer perspectives that transcend metrics of hustle and wealth, examining the evolution of work, technology's impact, and the moral dimensions of leadership.
Critics have praised this 'panoramic view' of the Indian experience as a timeless guide for young professionals, redefining legacy as the lasting impact one leaves through values, empathy, and purpose.