Six writers of Indian origin figure in the shortlist for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2016.
The shortlist was announced at the renowned London School of Economics and Political Science on Thursday.
The shortlisted writers include Akhil Sharma (Family Life, Faber & Faber, UK), Anuradha Roy (Sleeping on Jupiter, Hachette, India), K.R. Meera (Hang Woman, Penguin, India), Mirza Waheed (The Book of Gold Leaves, Viking/Penguin, India), Neel Mukherjee (The Lives of Others, Vintage/Penguin, UK) and Raj Kamal Jha (She Will Build Him a City, Bloomsbury, India).
The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature carries $50,000 for the best work in fiction by an author of any ethnicity or nationality, provided the work is about South Asia and its people.
Jury chair Mark Tully said in a statement: "We have had to make difficult decisions.. Our final list still reflects the variety and vigour of South Asian fiction writing. One of the most striking features of the list is the quality of writing."
The novels were "remarkable for their realism and for the way they conveyed atmosphere", added Tully, a long-time India hand as the BBC bureau chief.
Another highlight of the prize is that writing in regional languages is highly encouraged and the prize money is equally shared between the author and the translator in case a translated entry wins. This works as a great impetus for regional writers who often struggle to gain visibility on international shores.
The winner of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature will be announced at the Galle Literary Festival in Sri Lanka, on 16th January 2016
