S Hareesh won the JCB Prize for Literature 2020 for Moustache, translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil. The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh and an additional Rs 10 lakh will be given to the translator.
“A fluent translation of S Hareesh’s Meesha, Moustache is an amazing feat of maverick novel writing. An immersive experience of the highlights of the Kuttanad region’s history, it lays out – through the story of its marvellous characters — the intricate social history of Kerala. Brilliantly told and evocative, and epitomising everything we stand for, Moustache is a story that needs to be heard,” the jury said in comments about the book.
The shortlist, which was announced on 25 September, included Deepa Anappara’s Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, Samit Basu’s Chosen Spirits, Annie Zaidi’s Prelude to a Riot and and Dharini Bhaskar’s These, Our Bodies Possessed by the Light.
Madhuri Vijay won the JCB Prize last year for The Far Field.