Created by Sameer
Last edited March 19, 2026

Template:Infobox awardThe 1st Rainbow Awards ceremony was held at Rainbow Lit Fest, Gulmohar Park, New Delhi on 10 December 2023. It celebrated writers from 1 January 2022 and journalists from 1 June 2022, both until 31 May 2023.[1]

Jury

The nine-member jury composed of following members evaluated the submissions and decide on the award winners. Rohin Bhatt, queer rights activist, lawyer and bioethicist, served as a co-coordinator.[1][2]

Winners and nominees

Lifetime Achievement Award

Hoshang Merchant, a Hyderabad-based poet and professor best known for his anthology Yaraana, was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award.[1][3]

Literature

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  • Entering the Maze: Queer Fiction of Krishnagopal Mallick by Niladri R. Chatterjee[4] (Niyogi Books)

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Journalism

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  • Brahmin Men Who Love to Eat A** by Akhil Kang[10] (Decolonizing Sexualities Network)
    • The Horrors of Queer Conversion Therapy in India by Nolina Minj[11] (Scroll)
    • Seen-Unseen by Riddhi Dastidar[12] (Queer Beat)

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  • Queering Translation: Locating Queerness in Indian Languages by Chittajit Mitra[13] (Hindustan Times)
    • Why Saurabh Kirpal Needs to Be Appointed as Judge? by Kinshuk Gupta[14] (The Indian Express)
    • Though Homosexuality Has Been Decriminalised, Two Incidents in Pune Show How Bias Still Prevails by R Raj Rao[15] (Scroll)

See also

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References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rainbow Lit Fest 2023: Winners of the inaugural Rainbow Awards for Literature and Journalism announced, Sharma, Saurabh. Moneycontrol(11 December 2023).
  2. Inaugural Rainbow Awards to honour queer literature and journalism, Scroll Staff. Scroll.in(25 May 2023).
  3. 'Homosexuality is endemic where capitalism thrives,' says Hoshang Merchant. The Hindu(10 September 2018).
  4. Entering the maze: queer fiction of Krishnagopal Mallick{{#if:Mallick|, Mallick}. Niyogi Books(2023). ISBN 978-93-91125-90-5
  5. Tell me how to be{{#if:Patel|, Patel}. Flatiron Books(2021). ISBN 9781250184979
  6. The woman who climbed trees{{#if:Ravindra|, Ravindra}. HarperVia, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers(2023). ISBN 978-0-06-324048-3
  7. Footprints of a queer history: life-stories from Gujarat{{#if:Sharma|, Sharma}. Yoda Press(2022). ISBN 9789382579359
  8. I am Onir, & I am gay{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Penguin/Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House(2022). ISBN 978-0-670-09473-8
  9. Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India{{#if:K.|, K.}. Simon & Schuster(2023). ISBN 9789392099502
  10. Brahmin Men who love to Eat A**, Kang, Akhil. Decolonizing Sexualities Network(5 January 2023).
  11. The horrors of queer conversion therapy in India, Minj, Nolina. Scroll.in(2022-09-07).
  12. Seen-Unseen, Dastidar, Riddhi. Queer Beat(18 April 2023).
  13. Essay: Queering translation: Locating queerness in Indian languages, Mitra, Chittajit. Hindustan Times(2022-09-29).
  14. Why Saurabh Kirpal needs to be appointed as judge, Gupta, Kinshuk. The Indian Express(2023-01-27).
  15. Though homosexuality has been decriminalised, two incidents in Pune show how bias still prevails, Rao, R. Raj. Scroll.in(2022-07-28).