The Valley of Words Book Awards 2026 has announced its shortlists across eight categories. The winners will be announced at the Valley of Words Literature and Arts Festival to be held in Dehradun on November 28 and 29 and will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a trophy.For each category, the final shortlist of five books was narrowed down from a longlist of ten. The shortlisted titles of the VoW Book Awards 2026 are:English nonfictionBeliever’s Dilemma: Vajpayee and the Hindu Right’s Path to Power, 1977–2018, Abhishek ChoudharyTrial by Water: Indus Basin and India-Pakistan Relations, Uttam Kumar SinhaCalled by the Hills: A Home in the Himalaya, Anuradha RoyThe Hindi Heartland: A Study, Ghazala WahabTelling Me My Stories: Fragments of a Himalayan Childhood, Kunzang ChodenEnglish fictionOur Friends in Good Houses, Rahul PanditaReal Life, Amrita MahaleRailsong, Rahul BhattacharyaRising Sons, Kavery NambisanRemnants of Rebellion, Ponnu Elizabeth MathewEnglish translationSita’s Veil, Anamika, translated from the Hindi by Nishtha GautamThe Bitter Fruit Tree and Other Stories, Prakash Parienkar, translated from the Konkani by Vidya PaiMy Last Autobiography, Rajendra Banahatti, translated from the Marathi by Jerry PintoThe Dark Hours of the Night, Salma, translated from the Thamizh by GJV PrasadThe Blue Potter: The Creative Genius of Punjab, Ajeet Cour, translated from the Punjabi by Sushmindar Jeet KaurYoung adult literatureA Patch of Sun, A Patch of Shade, Vidya Nesarikar The White Lotus, Aditi KrishnakumarNaach, Navnit Nirav Giants, Huthuka Sumi Udne Waala Phool, UpasanaChildren’s booksWhat’s the Point of KIKI?, Nandita da Cunha The Night Sky, Samina MishraRain Perfume, Niveditha ReddyAmma’s Magic Handbag, Vaishali BKThe Damroo Man and the Monkey Gang, Ishan TrivediHindi nonfictionRashtra Nirman Mein Adivasi, Jitendra MeenaChor Gali Me Titliyan, Jiten ThakurChandan Kiwad, Malini AwasthiYayavar Ki Yaadein, Devendra MewariStree: Aseemta Ka Itihas, Abhay Kumar ThakurHindi fictionTrimaya, Manish KulshresthaShreyasi, Vinay KumarMatlab Hindu, Ambar PandeyPaandaan, Mujtaba KhanKabir Soyi Pir Hai, Pratibha KatiyarHindi translationKesav Sunhu Prabin, Alison Bush, translated from English by Reyazul Haque Dakini, S Hari Kumar, translated from English by Suchita MitalMegh Malhar, Deepak Kumar Barkakti, translated from the Assamese by Dinkar KumarOrbital, Samantha Harvey, translated from English by RohiniJaag Tujhko Door Jana, Namita Gokhale, translated from English by Aishwarj Kumar