Itanagar : Arunachal Pradesh writer Subi Taba has been awarded the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman 2025 for Best Fiction for her acclaimed short story collection Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains, marking a significant moment for literature from India’s Northeast.

The award, instituted by the New Indian Express Group, was presented at a ceremony in Chennai by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, in the presence of eminent jury members, writers and cultural figures.

According to the citation, Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains: Stories from Arunachal Pradesh was described as “a luminous work of fiction that gives voice to a landscape and people too rarely represented in Indian literature.” The jury praised the collection for being deeply rooted in Arunachal’s oral traditions while employing a contemporary literary sensibility to evoke the rhythms of everyday life in the hills “with quiet power and deep empathy.”

Through spare and evocative prose, the jury noted, Taba explores themes of memory, belonging, loss and resilience, capturing the moral and emotional universe of mountain communities negotiating the pressures of social and cultural change. The work was said to expand “the imaginative geography of Indian fiction” and reaffirm storytelling as a form 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 International Booker Prize winner Bhanu Mushtaq and The Girl with the Seven Lives by Vikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire.

The recognition highlights the growing national visibility of literary voices from the Northeast and underscores Arunachal Pradesh’s increasing presence in India’s contemporary literary landscape. The Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman is regarded as one of the country’s most respected literary honours, celebrating narrative integrity, authenticity and artistic excellence.

Promotional | North East Integration Rally