The South Asia Book Award is delighted to announce our honors list for 2025! We received more than 100 submissions this year. Congratulations to all the amazing authors and illustrators listed below! Award Winners …
Year: 2025
My Big, Fat Desi Wedding
My Big, Fat Desi Wedding by Prerna Pickett (Page Street Publishing, 2024) This YA romance anthology, featuring eight different Desi authors, contains the spectrum of stories one expects from an anthology – it runs the gamut …
I’m From Here Too
I’m From Here Too by Kashmira Sheth (Peachtree Books, 2024) Eighth grader Anoop has a lot on his plate – a new classroom without his best friend, his grandfather in India is sick and possibly dying, …
Amil and the After
Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani (Kokila/Penguin Random House, 2024) In Amil and the After, Veera Hiranandani continues the story from The Night Diary, following 12-year-old Amil as he adjusts to life in Bombay after …
Yasmeen Lari, Green Architect
Yasmeen Lari, Green Architect, written by Marzieh Abbas, illustrated by Hoda Hadadi (Clarion Books, 2024) Yasmeen Lari has shattered multiple glass ceilings—not only as Pakistan’s first woman architect but also as a passionate activist and …
My Mother’s Tongues
My Mother’s Tongues, written by Uma Menon, illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell (Candlewick Press, 2024) Sumi is in awe of her mother’s superpower: her mom can speak two languages- Malayalam and English. Through beautiful mixed media …
Asha the Auto-Driver
Asha the Auto-Driver, written by Aruna Shekar, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Tulika Books, 2024) Follow Asha as she drives in the beautiful, bustling streets of Chennai from dawn to dusk. Her green-and-yellow auto is more than …
Four Eids and a Funeral
Four Eids and Funeral by Faridah Abikke-Iyimide and Adiba Jaigirdar (Macmillan, 2024) Four Eids and a Funeral is a heartfelt, humorous, and community-rooted love story co-written by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar. When Said Hossain returns …
The Door Is Open
The Door Is Open (anthology of stories) edited by Hena Khan (Little, Brown Books for Readers, 2024) The Door Is Open, edited by Hena Khan, is a powerful collection of interconnected short stories that center the …
Lion of the Sky
Lion of the Sky by Ritu Hemnani (Harper Collins, 2024) Prior to the Partition of 1947, Twelve year-old Raj, and his best friend, Iqbal, spent their days flying kites, climbing trees, and eating mangoes. After Partition, …