In bringing you the latest in literary news around the world, our editors speak on the mysterious disappearance of a renowned Indian literary prize, the death of an iconic Bulgarian writer and community leader, and ongoing discussions of queerness and translational crafts in Hong Kong.
Sayani Sarkar, Editor-at-Large, reporting from India
In a surprising turn of events, the JCB Prize for Literature, one of India’s leading book awards, has seemingly ended without any official announcement. The only information available is a legal notice on their website stating the “revocation of the licence” for the JCB Literature Foundation, established in 2018 by JCB India (a global manufacturer of construction equipment) with the aim of promoting and celebrating Indian writing and helping readers worldwide discover the finest contemporary Indian literature.
This development has sparked significant discussions within the literary community in India. Concerned writers and translators are left wondering whether the Prize will return in a different format, but there have been no announcements regarding the 2025 shortlist. Since 2018, a selected jury has been responsible for creating a longlist of ten, a shortlist of five, and selecting the winner. Each shortlisted author received Rs 1 lakh and their translators were awarded Rs 50,000; if a translated work is named the winner, the author received Rs 25 lakh and the translator was awarded Rs 10 lakh. This prize was previously the highest-paying literary award in India, and its sudden absence is troubling, especially given the recent surge of interest after Banu Mushtak’s Heart Lamp’s win at the International Booker Prizes this year.
Away from the glitz of literary festivals and on the other end of the spectrum of literature’s economic realities, there is a summer story about book-loving people coming together to create free libraries. The Book in Hand Campaign (BHC India), a youth-led initiative by the CELL Foundation, establishes and manages free libraries in and around Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). Launched in August 2023, the initiative sets up libraries primarily in open-air locations such as parks, slums, and campuses in Delhi-NCR region.
Since opening their first library in Gandhi Vihar, the BHC collection has steadily grown to include twenty-five hundred books spread across six open-air libraries, reaching over five thousand readers. Every Sunday, these libraries draw in university students, families, and elderly individuals who discover the available selection—with books in Hindi being especially in demand. This initiative operates on an honor system, meaning that no ID cards, deposits, or overdue fines. If you’d like to help spread the word about this wonderful initiative, please share their story on your social media platforms!
Andriana Hamas, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Bulgaria
On June 2, Bozhana Apostolova died. The answer to who she was is at once simple and complex.
Apostolova was a poet, founder of the renowned Janet 45 publishing house, and the supporter of hundreds of budding Bulgarian authors. Just last month, many local outlets—including the Bulgarian-language version of the Free Europe network (Svobodna Evropa)—published pieces on the occasion of her eightieth birthday, attempting to describe her free spirit, daring character, and visionary mindset. Sadly, they inevitably failed to capture the breadth of her entirety, just as this brief text will; the paradox is that a life such as hers, dedicated to the written word, often refuses to be fully obedient to it.
In her article following Apostolova’s death, Zdravka Evtimova (who was far from the only literati to share fond memories with the poet) recalled the first time they met. It was a rather awkward encounter—at least from Evtimova’s perspective—that ended with her being in awe of Apostolova’s manner and seemingly unshakable faith in a then-unknown mother of three struggling to put food on the table. Evtimova went on to become one of Bulgaria’s most famous contemporary writers, further evidence of Apostolova’s foresight.
Obviously, a lot more can be said, but perhap it’s best to leave the final say to Apostolova herself. In one of her last interviews for the Bulgarian National Radio, aired towards the end of May, she shared that “the only time I would write poetry was when my soul was ready to do it.” I, for one, have a reason to believe that this ethos applied to the way she lived her entire life.
Charlie Ng, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Hong Kong
How do we place Hong Kong’s queerness in time and space? In a book talk hosted by the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies on May 27, Dr. Alvin K. Wong from the University of Hong Kong presented insights from his upcoming book, Unruly Comparison: Queerness, Hong Kong and the Sinophone. Exploring queerness in Hong Kong through literature, cinema, and visual culture, Wong’s monograph challenges traditional narratives of Eurocentrism in queer theory and China-centrism, positioning Hong Kong as a unique site for global cultural discussion.
To explore more of Hong Kong localism, the Goethe-Institut Hongkong also organized a talk, “Places in Kowloon in Writing,” focused on Kowloon’s literary representation on June 23, featuring writers Christophe Tong Yui and Fong Tai Chor alongside translator Kathrin Bode, who together discussed the unique cultural significance of various districts from Kowloon in Hong Kong literature.
The South China Morning Post recently published an article by Karen Cheung, spotlighting the new generation of translators for Hong Kong literature. In it, she touches on Jacqueline Leung, translator of Hon Lai Chu’s Mending Bodies, and her journey in literary translation. Her reflections highlighted the challenges and rewards of the work in bridging language divides in Hong Kong’s vibrant literary scene. Jennifer Feeley also appears, commenting how her relationship with Xi Xi grew closer through their collaboration, and her recent mentee in the American Literary Translators Association’s 2025 Emerging Translator Mentorship, poet Tim Tim Cheng, discussed how she began translating Chinese Hong Kong creative works and how that influenced her own poetry writing. Cheung’s article underscores the importance of translation in making Hong Kong literature accessible to a global audience and the dynamics that translators experience in navigating cultural nuances and fostering connections.
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