CHENNAI: Amazon’s self-publishing service Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) announced the results of the fifth edition of its flagship contest: Pen to Publish. The contest received a great response from aspiring authors who submitted their eBooks to be evaluated by an esteemed panel of jury members. KDP Pen to Publish contest recognises literary excellence among self-published authors across genres. Through this contest, KDP recognised 11 self-published eBooks in each of the three participating languages of English, Hindi, and Tamil. The top 3 winners received a cash prize of ₹1 lakh each, and the first runners-up were awarded ₹50,000 each. The second runners-up won a cash prize of ₹30,000 each, while the remaining 8 participants from the top 11 were granted an amount of ₹10,000 each.
The jury panel comprised of best-selling authors Sudeep Nagarkar and Sudha Nair for English entries, Satya Vyas and Vijay Kakwani for Hindi entries, and Naga Chokkan and Cable Sankar for Tamil entries. This year, the contest witnessed participation spanning genres such as literature & fiction, romance, science fiction & fantasy, and mystery & thrillers. The entries were judged on the basis of several criteria including originality, creativity, and quality of writing by the judging panel.
Vaishali Aggarwal, Category Leader, Kindle Content India, Amazon, says, “For the last 10 years, Amazon KDP has been consistently working towards helping the writers community by encouraging and providing them with a service that enables them to self-publish their eBooks and become recognised authors. The fifth edition of KDP Pen to Publish contest received entries from budding and established authors from different walks of life such as doctors, lawyers, engineers and homemakers.”
Following are the three winners from the contest:
| Language | Book Title | Author | Genre | City |
| English | The 1st Assassin: A Unit 22 Thriller | Mainak Dhar | Society, Politics & Philosophy | Mumbai |
| Hindi | Lucky Lottery Draw (Hindi Edition) | Pradumn Rakesh Chourey | Literature and Fiction | Mumbai |
| Tamil | பத்தாவது திசை : Pathavathu Disai (Tamil Edition) | Dilip Narayanan | Mystery and Thrillers | Chennai |
Sudeep Nagarkar, best-selling author and a jury member for the English language, says, “Passion and dedication could be felt in every eBook that was submitted for Amazon KDP’s Pen to Publish contest. I enjoyed reading the English language entries given the variety of stories and their quality. However, the engaging stories also made judging quite difficult. It was an honour to be a part of the jury panel as I believe that this contest encouraged many aspiring writers to complete their stories and share it with the world.”
Mainak Dhar, English language winner, says, “The KDP Pen to Publish contest is an incredible opportunity for aspiring writers to realise their potential and receive recognition. I am quite thankful to Amazon as well as the jury members of the contest for making it possible. This award exemplifies how anyone with talent and a story to tell can reach readers all over the world with their work.”
Vijay Kakwani, a highly awarded Author, Storyteller and Jury member for the Hindi language, says, “Reading the entries submitted in Hindi for the 5th edition of Pen to Publish contest was an absolute pleasure. I can completely understand the anticipation and excitement of every participant as I have been in their shoes a couple years ago. I came across so many new styles of writing across genres, and each had its own distinct flavour. I am truly inspired by every participant and wish them the very best for a bright future ahead in the field of writing.”
Pradumn Rakesh Chourey, Hindi language winner, says, “To say that I am elated at this moment would be an understatement! Winning Pen to Publish is a huge achievement as well as encouragement for me to write more. I am thankful and grateful to Amazon KDP for recognising the writer in me through my eBook.”
Naga Chokkan, best-selling author, and a jury member for Tamil language, says, “The Pen to Publish contest not only motivates writers but also fuels an environment for writing and sharing meaningful content. This was evident in the originality of the content across entries this year. Amazon KDP continues to provides writers the enormous opportunity of reaching audiences far and wide by self-publishing their eBook.”
Dilip Narayanan, winner from Tamil language, says, “It feels great to have won the Amazon KDP’s flagship Pen to Publish contest. Amazon KDP enables me to reach out to an expansive audience as well as generate royalties.”
