Three Indian authors -- Anita Desai, Rupa Bajwa and Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi -- are among those who have bagged this year's Italian Grinzane Cavour Awards.
While Anita Desai received the International Prize -- Una vita per la letterature (A life for literature) -- for her body of works, the Debutant Author Award was bagged by Rupa Bajwa for The Sari Shop and Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi for The Last Song of Dusk.
The prize distribution ceremony was held on Saturday at the Grinzane Cavour Castle in Piedmont, Italy, an Italian embassy release in New Delhi said.
V S Naipaul is the only other Indian to have received this award earlier.
"It is a matter of great pride to receive the very prestigious Grinzane Cavour Award. These Indian authors have proved their literary ability and done their country proud," said Antonio Armellini, Italian ambassador to India, who was present on the occasion.
Eminent Italian and foreign authors attended the awards ceremony. The foreign novel winners were Thomas Hettche (Germany), Rosa Montero (Spain) and Duong Thu Huong (Vietnam).
The Italian novel winners included Eraldo Affinati, Maria Pace Ottieri and Alessandro Perissinotto.
With reading taking a backseat among most people, the aim of the award is to take the younger generation closer to literature and in particular to contemporary fiction, the release said.