In a landmark moment for Indian literature, Banu Mushtaq's Heart Lamp, translated from the Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, won the 2025 International Booker Prize. This is also the first time an Indian writer and translator duo receives the award. Our heartfelt congratulations go out to them and their teams.
For Pontas, this achievement resonates deeply. From its foundations, Pontas has held a longstanding commitment to representing diverse Indian voices and bringing their stories to readers all over the world.
Given the current moment, we're delighted to spotlight three Indian authors from our catalogue, celebrating their contributions to South Asian literature.
In early 2025 we welcomed young Indian novelist and publisher Dharini Bhaskar to the Pontas Agency.
With her latest book, Like Being Alive Twice, published in 2024 by Viking/PRH India to much critical acclaim and longlisted for the 2025 Ruskin Bond Award for Fiction, Dharini has written a unique, contemporary, genre-busting novel which straddles the literary and speculative. World English rights (excluding Indian subcontinent), all translation rights and audiovisual rights are currently available.
Set in a dystopian South Asian country where a points system dictates citizens’ lives, this is a love story with a difference: a story of nested possibilities, a story of what was, and a story of what might have been. Hard-hitting, timely and unsettling, Dharini masterfully weaves tension with poetry to create a fascinating and audacious read for fans of stylish, grounded speculative fiction novels.
The press has said:
"A masterful comingling of love and dystopia, Like Being Alive Twice is an emotionally charged and unforgettable narrative experience." Youth Ki Awaaz
"An unusual novel, straddling genres and styles with rare aplomb [...] Hard-hitting, timely, and unsettling, this is a book for our times: a reminder of what could happen." Open Magazine
Debut novelist Rupleena Bose also joined the Pontas Agency in early 2025 Her novel, Summer of Then, was published by Vintage/PRH India in 2024. World English rights (excluding Indian subcontinent), all translation rights and audiovisual rights are currently available.
Summer of Then follows a young English literature teacher negotiates between her writing and her livelihood, her morality and her heart, her selfhood and her family’s history. She moves between cities, seasons and two men: Nikhil and Zafar—their lives getting entangled across a decade of restlessness and upheavals, their paths defined by questions of identity, desire and betrayals.
The press has said:
“There are times when one’s words threaten to burst out of oneself, leading to a deluge of thoughts, hurt, feelings, and wonder. Summer of Then is a similar explosion of interiority. From an evening that offers unusually clean air and bright stars to a dawn that is suffocated by disease and miasma, a decade-long story unfolds, full of longing, betrayal, memory, desire, and love.” The Telegraph India
“Bose’s novel is an urgent read. It lays bare the grime behind the glossy life of an academic in India. It makes evident the fluidity of desires women feel without voicing it. … It clears the air to make Indian writing in English remain relevant without pining for another Roy or Seth. It is a fresh voice that deftly captures yearnings, memories, grief, desperation and hunger of a woman.” Rahul Singh, The Federal
In June 2021, Indian author Bhavika Govil was announced as the co-winner of the Pontas & JJ Bola Emerging Writers Prize, alongside fellow Pontas client Musih Tedji Xaviere. After four years of representation, writing, and editing, her novel Hot Water was published by Fourth Estate/HarperCollins India in April 2025.
Hot Water is a three-voice coming-of-age contemporary story examining childhood and motherhood, sibling love and secrets, desire and grief. French rights were snapped up in a pre-empt by Éditions de la Martinière in a two-book deal. WEL rights (excl. Indian Subcontinent) and all other translation and audiovisual rights are available.
The press has said:
"Bhavika Govil handles intricate topics with remarkable ease and mastery, never allowing themes to overwhelm the essential humanity of her characters. In this remarkable debut, she meditates on how we learn to breathe, and survive – in the depths of those we love most." Usawa Literary Review
"Bold and intelligent. A quiet triumph of observation and emotional nuance, a debut that announces a distinct literary voice—one that is attentive to the invisible hinges of domestic life, the pauses between spoken words, and the unarticulated fears and desires that ripple beneath the surface of a family navigating the undercurrents of secrets that each of the members deals with." Sudha Tilak, Open Magazine