JCB Prize for Literature: Sara Rai, Annapurna Garimella to be part of jury for 2021 edition

The JCB Prize for Literature announced its jury for the 2021 edition on 8 April; it will be chaired by author and literary translator Sara Rai. The jury panel for the fourth edition of the coveted literary award consists of designer and art historian Annapurna Garimella, author and translator Shahnaz Habib, journalist and editor Prem Panicker and writer and podcaster Amit Varma. Expressing her thoughts on the eminent panel of jurors selected for 2021, literary director of the JCB Prize, Mita Kapur said, “Our aim while selecting a jury is to find people who would appreciate this diversity of talent. This year, our jury members are all authors, with three of them being award-winning translators as well. I trust their diverse interests and long engagement with the art of writing to shape their discussions of the books submitted and their final judgement for the 2021 prize.” [caption id=“attachment_9508601” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Amit Varma, Prem Panicker and Shahnaz Habib are among the writers, translators and editors on the jury for the 2021 JCB Prize for Literature.[/caption] In 2020, the JCB Prize was awarded to S Hareesh for his work Moustache, translated from the Malayalam into English by Jayasree Kalathil. The first recipient of this prize was Benyamin who won for his 2018 work Jasmine Days, translated into English by Habib, while in 2019, Madhuri Vijay was awarded the prize for her novel, The Far Field. The longlist for the 2021 JCB Prize for Literature will be announced on 6 September.