The aim of the Parag Honour List is to curate a comprehensive collection of remarkable literature each year to bring them wider readership and also make it accessible to librarians, teachers, and parents. It’s important for Indian children to read literature written in the country and this helps recognise the work of emerging publishers and writers while promoting access to quality literature for all.
Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, government of Karnataka, Uma Mahadevan, literary agent, and publishing commentator Kanishka Gupta, and children’s writer, educator, and PHL English jury member Mini Srinivasan launched the Parag Honour List 2023 in an online event.
Applications for Parag Honour List 2023 received over 250 submissions from 33 Indian publishers, of which 52 original titles were selected to be part of the final list. This year’s list features books for Early Readers, Young Readers, and Young Adults in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry categories. The list features a wide gamut of themes including books on arts, environment and climate change, gender, history, and even lesser-explored themes like philosophy for children.
The English jury for PHL 2023 consisted of children’s writer and teacher Mini Srinivasan; storyteller and professor at Delhi University, Prachi Kalra; and book curator and library educator ThejaswiShivanand. The Hindi jury consisted of poet and essayist Arun Kamal; educator and Executive Editor of Azim Premji University’s "Paathshala – Bhitar aur Baahar", Gurbachan Singh; and artistic director of Gillo Repertory Theatre, ShailiSathyu.
"Curated recommended book lists are widely developed and used internationally and help readers and libraries to access quality collections. Parag Honour List is the first of its kind effort to carefully curate, select and recommend outstanding original books published in Hindi and English in the past year in India. We are pleased to release the 4th edition of PHL and enhance the readership of good books in the country," Amrita Patwardhan, Head, Education, Tata Trusts.
Lakshmi Karunakaran, Lead, Parag Initiative, shared her views, she said, "The Parag Honour List is a unique initiative by Tata Trusts that attempts to fill an important gap in the children’s literature sector – access to a curated collection of outstanding books. This year we received over 300 entries and are proud to present this year’s list featuring 52 outstanding children’s books in Hindi and English, selected by an expert Jury after a year-long review process.
"Through this list, we celebrate the commendable work done by over 85 authors and illustrators and 15 publishers who bring to you the very best that children’s literature has to offer this year. We hope books from the list will find a wide readership among children and young adults in schools, libraries, and homes."
(life can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
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