Titles in Urdu, Hindi, and Nepali have been featured in the longlist for the first time.

India’s prestigious JCB Prize for Literature has a longlist that, for the first time, includes books in Urdu, Hindi, and Nepali. Books from 16 states in 8 languages were entered for the award this year, reports The India Express.

The Shortlist will be announced in October.

As well as Bengali and Malayalam, titles in Urdu, Hindi, and Nepali have been featured in the longlist for the first time.

Read more at The India Express.

Or watch the Mita Kapur, JCB’s literary director, make the announcement on YouTube.