The 2017 Hindu Prize for Fiction was awarded on January 15 to Deepak Unnikrishnan for his dystopian and nostalgic work entitled Temporary People. This collection of 28 linked short stories is an ode to the “pravasi” Malayalee, emigrants from a southern Indian ethnic group living in the diaspora. Unnikrishnan breaks new ground in fiction by addressing the humanitarian crisis of guest workers in the United Arab Emirates.
The author was born in Kerala, India and shortly thereafter his family moved to Abu Dhabi where his parents worked hard for their children. He has lived and studied in the United States, and now teaches writing at New York University Abu Dhabi.
The Hindu Prize is sponsored by The Hindu, India’s daily English language newspaper, and was presented at the Lit for Life literary festival in Chennai, India. Each year publishers submit entries to a panel of judges consisting of writers, academicians and critics. The Prize was first awarded in 2010. Past winning titles available in the Los Angeles Public Library collection include:
- Joseph Manu – Serious Men
- Rahul Bhattacharya – The Sly Company of People Who Care
- Jerry Pinto - Em and the Big Hoom
Each year a shortlist of five titles is also prepared by the judges. The following shortlisted works are also available at the library.
- Roy Arundhati – The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
- Amitav Ghosh – Flood of Fire
- Amit Chaudhuri – Odysseus Abroad
- Janice Pariat – Seahorse
- Roy Anuradha – Sleeping on Jupiter
- Manu Joseph – The Illicit Happiness of Other People