Jahnavi Barua, a renowned Indian English writer from Assam, has been honoured with the prestigious AutHer Awards-2021 for her work Undertow (2020) published by Penguin Random House India.
The AutHer Awards 2021 declared its top winners at a ceremony organised at the Taj Palace, New Delhi on March 17.
The awards celebrate women authors who have added value and creativity to the literary space.
“I am very delighted, humbled and overwhelmed to be the winner of this year’s best fiction category. This award is special because it shines a light on the women writers of the country and I am more than happy to be a part of this solidarity of women writers,” Barua, who could not attend the occasion because of the pandemic, said in a video message.
In Undertow, Jahnavi Barua explores the fine web of human lives with a deft touch.
Though the story is set in Bengaluru and Guwahati, it is a tale every Indian will relate to.
Jahnavi who hails from Guwahati, has lived in Bengaluru for the past 28 years.
Her first book was a collection of short stories called Next Door, followed by Rebirth — a monologue of a woman talking to her unborn child — which was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize and the Commonwealth Book Prize.
The awards were presented in four categories – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s and Debut.
There were a lifetime achievement award and a popular choice award too.