Arunachal writer Subi Taba wins Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman 2025
Taba’s Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains has been awarded best fiction for its evocative portrayal of Arunachal life
Subi Taba honoured with the Ramnath Goenka Award 2025 by Vice President CP Radhakrishnan (Photo: MDoNER India/X)
Itanagar, Jan 3: Arunachal Pradesh writer Subi Taba has been awarded the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman 2025 for Best Fiction for her acclaimed short story collection, Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains.
The award, instituted by the New Indian Express Group, was presented at a ceremony held in Chennai by Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, in the presence of eminent jury members, writers, and leading cultural figures.
According to the citation issued by the New Indian Express Group, Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains: Stories from Arunachal Pradesh is “a luminous work of fiction that gives voice to a landscape and people too rarely represented in Indian literature”.
Rooted in the region’s oral traditions while shaped by a contemporary literary sensibility, the collection was praised for evoking “the rhythms of life in Arunachal Pradesh with quiet power and deep empathy”.
The jury observed that through “spare, evocative prose”, Subi Taba explores themes of memory, belonging, loss and resilience, capturing the moral universe of mountain communities navigating the pressures of change.
The citation noted that the work expands “the imaginative geography of Indian fiction”, reaffirming storytelling as an act of cultural preservation and renewal.
Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains emerged as the Best Fiction title in a highly competitive year, surpassing other shortlisted works including Heart Lamp by Bhanu Mushtaq, winner of the International Booker Prize, and The Girl with the Seven Lives by Vikas Swarup, acclaimed author of Slumdog Millionaire.
The recognition underscores the growing prominence of voices from India’s North Eastern region within the national literary mainstream.
The Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman is among India’s most respected literary honours, celebrating narrative courage, authenticity, and artistic excellence.