Overview

• The prize skipped its customary March call for entries and was officially confirmed as discontinued by Literary Director Mita Kapur on June 21.
• Founded in 2018, the JCB Prize awarded ₹25 lakh to authors and ₹10 lakh to translators, bolstering interest in regional writing and translations.
• Over seven editions, translated works claimed five of seven awards, including multiple wins for Malayalam alongside Tamil and Urdu titles.
• Authors and publishers lament the loss of a platform that significantly raised the profile of Indian literature and strengthened the publishing ecosystem.
• An open letter last year criticized JCB’s parent company for its bulldozer operations in India and Palestine, though some winners say the prize’s impact should be judged separately.