Anasuya Vaidya
Best Children
Anasuya Vaidya is the Director — Akshara Theatre. As the second-generation co-founder and director of Akshara Theatre, Anusuya
View ProfileWomen Auther Awards 2026 | Honouring Voices That Inspire
2024
Auther Awards Winners
Women Auther Awards – Awards Night
The Shortlist
The Longlist
Jury Members
Anita Nair
Best Debut
Anita Nair is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of the novels The Better Man, Ladies Coupé, Mistress, Lessons...
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Devashish Makhija
Best Children
Devashish Makhija has written and directed the full-length award-winning feature films Joram, Bhonsle and Ajji — all three
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Esther David
Best Fiction
Esther David writes about Jewish life in India and personally illustrates her books. She is the author of the highly acclaimed ...
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Ganesh N. Devy
Best Non-Fiction
Prof. Devy is a thinker, cultural activist and institution builder. He is currently Senior Professor of Eminence
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Manu S Pillai
Best Non-Fiction
Manu S. Pillai is a historian and the author of five books, most recently Gods, Guns & Missionaries: The Making...
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Priya Dutt
Best Children
Priya Dutt has donned several hats that of a Member of Parliament, a Trustee Chairperson of the Nargis Dutt Foundation...
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Shrayana Bhattacharya
Best Non-Fiction
Shrayana Bhattacharya is a Senior Economist with the World Bank's Social Protection team in South Asia. Trained in development...
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Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi
Best Fiction
Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi’s first novel, The Last Song of Dusk, won the Betty Trask Award, the Premio Grinzane...
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Sutapa Basu
Best Debut
Suvir Saran is a chef, cookbook author, educator as well as a farmer who specializes in bringing Indian cooking to
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Suvir Saran
Best Debut
Suvir Saran is a chef, cookbook author, educator as well as a farmer who specializes in bringing Indian cooking to
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Trisha Das
Best Fiction
Trisha Das is the best selling author of Never Meant To Stay (The Grand Samara, in India), a big-hearted romcom set in Delhi, Ms Draupadi
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Introducing
Jaya Bhattacharji Rose
Literary Director
Host of TOI Bookmark, the Times of India’s marquee literary podcast; co-founder Ace Literary Consulting and Associate Professor, School of Modern Media Studies, UPES University. She is the founder of India’s most popular blog on the publishing industry and former Editorial Manager South Asia, Routledge (Taylor and Francis).
She has previously been Commissioning Editor and Marketing, Promotions, and Publicity Director, Zubaan (Kali for Women). She wrote the first book market report of India for Publishers Association UK. She has been a jury member for Crossword Book Awards, Scholastic Writing Awards, and mentored the Jaipur Lit Fest team of bloggers in 2019. She has also conceptualized the popular Scholastic Writers Academy programme.
Smita Mishra
Editorial director
Smita Mishra is the Editor of Times of India Lifestyle, Times Food, and Times Travel. She is known for crafting in-depth and compelling features that blend storytelling with analysis. Her passion lies in exploring culinary arts, travel, style, relationships, health and literature through her writing. She leads TOI Books and oversees the editorial aspects of Times of India’s literary initiatives, such as Times Literature Festivals and AutHer Awards. Smita brings a wealth of expertise in the digital realm, stemming from her previous roles at Zee News, Dainik Jagran, and India Today. Her contributions have been pivotal in launching numerous online properties and making meaningful editorial enhancements.
Surabhi Rawat
Editorial Co-director
Surabhi Rawat is a lifestyle journalist currently working with Timesofindia.com. She has over 10 years of work experience and she has covered lifestyle, health, and entertainment beats. Currently, she covers Books, Soul Search, Arts, and Trending for The Times of India’s website and is also one of the core team members for AutHer Awards, Times Litfest, and TOI Write India.
