Bestselling authors Lord Jeffrey Archer and Amish Tripathi marked the opening day of India Global Forum’s 6th annual IGF London 2024 at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre with the sensational launch of the IGF Archer-Amish Award for Literature.
This prestigious award, worth $25,000, will celebrate authors whose work in contemporary Indian fiction stands out as a remarkable contribution to the India story. Lord Archer, whose prolific career includes bestsellers like ‘The Clifton Chronicles’ and ‘Kane and Abel’, said: “Awards are very important because they give recognition, and they allow someone who has slaved night and day to achieve something to realise they’re not on their own stuck in a box. Writing is very lonely. You are totally on your own, so when the world acknowledges you, an award is acknowledgement of your talent, it is very important.
“You might inspire someone who is beginning to give up and realise what a challenge the next book would be, but leaves with the award and thinks, ‘Wow, somebody loves me,’ and that’s not to be underestimated.”
Amish Tripathi, whose works include bestsellers such as ‘Shiva’ trilogy commented: “The problem with many of the awards that are given is they tend to be focused more on the language, the ‘how’ of writing and not the storytelling itself… and this is an award that aims to encourage that.
“Other awards might reward those whose books are boring, but are written very well but there’s no story in there. The second aspect actually is the way Westerners see India – it is through the Western lens, it’s one narrative, one lens which is very different from how Indians see India… So these are the two critical pieces that this award will support – the art of storytelling, and India talking about ourselves, our own stories, our own way.”
Elaborating on IGF’s support of the award, IGF Founder and Chairman Manoj Ladwa said: “The written word, one of the oldest and most significant forms of creative expression, continues to play a crucial role in altering perceptions and inspiring change. At IGF, we are storytellers – we tell the story of contemporary India and we tell it from the lens of business, science and technology. But without culture, commerce is a little dry.
“About four years ago we launched the Culture and Creativity Forum as part of IGF, and bringing literature as part of what we do at IGF made a lot of sense. There is a disconnect between what the West thinks of India, and what Indians read and are, and what they see of their country. So IGF seeks to bridge that disconnect with this award.”
Nominations will be open for long-form English fiction novels later in the year. An esteemed jury will shortlist finalists from the nominations, and the winner will be declared at IGF London 2025.
The winner will also be featured in an exclusive virtual studio session, streamed across IGF’s media platforms. This session will allow the winning author to share their creative journey and introduce their work to IGF’s extensive network in India and beyond, opening up a whole new audience.
*Info: India Global Forum; Catch up