MUMBAI: India’s leading chain of lifestyle bookstores Crossword and telecom service provider Hutch today instituted the Hutch Crossword Book Award 2004 and announced the longlist of nominees based on entries received from Indian publishers. The announcement was made by Crossword CEO and managing director R Sriram and Hutchison Essar deputy managing director Sandip Das, in the presence of renowned authors Paul Zacharia and Manil Suri.

The authors present at the occasion shared their views on the strength and quality of Indian writing and the role of Awards. The Hutch Crossword Book Award has been instituted to recognise literary excellence amongst Indian authors and is the only literary award of its kind in the country.

On the other hand, DAs said, "Hutchison has played a stellar role in bringing to the fore and supporting unsung talent. It has associated with emerging theatre, emerging sports and emerging literature. In its quest for being the catalyst to further communication in our expressive country, supporting modern Indian English literature, which has become a genre in itself and the language in which the global Indian speaks, was a natural next step. Translations of Indian-language literature into English will also allow a wider appreciation of the country’s literary heritage."