Commonwealth Writers' Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 8 (1994) Winner
Vikram Seth
ヴィクラム・セス
Vikram Seth
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1952-06-20 （Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, India）
- Nationality
- Indian
- Languages
- English, Hindi
- Residence History
- United Kingdom (near Salisbury) → India (Noida, Uttar Pradesh)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Poet
- Active Years
- 1980-
- Memberships
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
- Nominations
- 1993 – Shortlisted, Irish Times International Fiction Prize for A Suitable Boy
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Doon School | — | — | — | — | India |
| Tonbridge School | — | — | — | — | United Kingdom |
| Corpus Christi College, Oxford | Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) | — | BA | — | United Kingdom |
| Stanford University | Economics (PhD programme) | — | — | — | United States |
The Doon School
Country:
India
All-boys boarding school. Served as editor-in-chief of The Doon School Weekly.
Tonbridge School
Country:
United Kingdom
Attended to complete A-levels.
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)
Degree:
BA
Country:
United Kingdom
Read PPE.
Stanford University
Economics (PhD programme)
Country:
United States
Pursued a PhD in Economics but did not complete it.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Thomas Cook Travel Book Award | From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1985 | Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia) | The Humble Administrator's Garden | — | Commonwealth Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1988 | Sahitya Akademi Award | The Golden Gate | — | Sahitya Akademi | 受賞 |
| 1994 | Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) | A Suitable Boy | — | Commonwealth Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1994 | WH Smith Literary Award | A Suitable Boy | — | WH Smith | 受賞 |
| 1999 | Crossword Book Award | An Equal Music | — | Crossword Bookstores | 受賞 |
| 2001 | Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) | — | — | — | 叙位・受勲 |
| 2001 | EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award) | An Equal Music | — | — | 受賞 |
| 2005 | Pravasi Bharatiya Samman | — | — | Government of India | 受賞 |
| 2007 | Padma Shri (Literature & Education) | — | — | Government of India | 受賞 |
| — | Stegner Fellowship | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| — | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1994 | Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) | — | — | Royal Society of Literature | 選出 |
Thomas Cook Travel Book Award
1983
Work:
From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet
Result:
受賞
Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia)
1985
Work:
The Humble Administrator's Garden
Organization:
Commonwealth Foundation
Result:
受賞
Sahitya Akademi Award
1988
Work:
The Golden Gate
Organization:
Sahitya Akademi
Result:
受賞
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book)
1994
Work:
A Suitable Boy
Organization:
Commonwealth Foundation
Result:
受賞
WH Smith Literary Award
1994
Work:
A Suitable Boy
Organization:
WH Smith
Result:
受賞
Crossword Book Award
1999
Work:
An Equal Music
Organization:
Crossword Bookstores
Result:
受賞
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
2001
Result:
叙位・受勲
EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award)
2001
Work:
An Equal Music
Result:
受賞
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
2005
Organization:
Government of India
Result:
受賞
Padma Shri (Literature & Education)
2007
Organization:
Government of India
Result:
受賞
Stegner Fellowship
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
Result:
受賞
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL)
1994
Organization:
Royal Society of Literature
Result:
選出
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Golden Gate
1986 NovelA verse novel set in San Francisco that explores urban life and interpersonal relationships in poetic form.
urban liferelationshipshumour and pathos
A Suitable Boy
1993 Novel 1349 pagesA sprawling novel set in post-independence India that follows family life, marriage and politics.
familymarriagepoliticsmodernity vs tradition
Adaptations
- [Television (miniseries)] A Suitable Boy (BBC miniseries) (2020)
An Equal Music
1999 NovelA novel about the troubled love life of a violinist, with music as a central theme.
musiclosslove
Bibliography
- Mappings (poetry, 1980)
- From Heaven Lake (travel, 1983)
- The Humble Administrator's Garden (poetry, 1985)
- The Golden Gate (novel, 1986)
- A Suitable Boy (novel, 1993)
- An Equal Music (novel, 1999)
- Two Lives (non-fiction, 2005)
- The Rivered Earth (non-fiction, 2011)
- Hanuman Chalisa (translation, 2024)
Adaptations
- A Suitable Boy (BBC television miniseries, 2020)
Translations by Author
- Hanuman Chalisa (translation, 2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- poetic and precise proselyrical description combined with witdetailed characterisation for long-form narratives
- Recurring Motifs
- musicfamily and marriagetravel and cross-cultural experienceconflict between modernity and tradition
Legacy
Vikram Seth is one of the leading writers in Indian English literature, acclaimed for both his poetry and long-form novels. His landmark novel A Suitable Boy is renowned for its panoramic depiction of Indian society and has been adapted for screen.
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
In Popular Culture
- BBC adaptation of A Suitable Boy (2020)
Quotes
-
"We live in a better situation now than we lived a month ago."
Source: Deccan Herald (2024) (2024)
Trivia
- He is openly bisexual.
- An Equal Music was dedicated to the violinist Philippe Honoré.
- He purchased and renovated the former home of the Anglican poet George Herbert near Salisbury.