By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Jan 15: Renowned city-author and Sahitya Akademi winner, Janice Pariat received the 2023 Sushila Devi Award, for the ‘Best Book of fiction written by a Woman Author in 2022’, for her fiction novel, Everything the Light Touches. The award was presented to her at the Bhopal Literature Fest that ran from January 12 to 14.
The book was published by Harper Collins in 2022 and the award presented by the Shri Ratanlal Foundation, acknowledged Pariat’s skillful storytelling, weaving the tales of four diverse travelers across time and history.
The narrative, transcending geographical and temporal boundaries, follows Shai’s rediscovery of her indigenous heritage, Evelyn’s journey inspired by Goethe’s botanical writings, Goethe’s 1770s expedition to Italy, and Linnaeus leading a Lapland expedition. Pariat’s eloquent prose and mastery of fiction’s form, coupled with her ability to integrate images from various contexts, secured her the prestigious Sushila Devi Award in 2024.
The jury, led by author Malashri Lal and including poet Sukrita Paul Kumar and GJV academic Prasad, faced a close competition between Pariat’s novel and Chitra Banerjee Devkaruni’s Independence this year.