Events and awards sponsored by the Crossword franchise

To recognise and reward the best of Indian writing, the Crossword franchise launched the Crossword Book Award in 1998. The book franchise presented the first award for the best original work of fiction in English to Allan Sealy for The Everest Hotel. The award carried a cash prize of Rs 200,000.

In 1999 a new category was added to the awards. This award was for the Indian Language Fiction Translation into English and the cash prize was increased to Rs 300,000 for each category. The prize for the best work in English Fiction went to Vikram Seth for An Equal Music in 1999.

The Crossword retail franchise also introduced the Hutch Crossword Book Award. This award, in collaboration with Hutch, recognizes and compensates the best of Indian writing and makes sure that works of merit reach a broader audience. The Hutch Crossword Book Award 2004 was bagged by Amitav Ghosh for The Hungry Tide.

The Hutch Crossword Book Award for 2006 will be given out in the following categories

Best Work in English Fiction, Best Work in Indian Language Fiction Translation and Best Work in English Non-Fiction.

Each Award will bear a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakhs, a trophy and a citation. In case of the Indian Language Fiction Translation category, the author and the translator share the prize money equally.

A 'Popular Award' has also been introduced; through which readers can vote for their favourite book shortlisted in the English Fiction and English Non-Fiction categories. The Popular Award entitles the winning author to a cash prize of 1 lakh and a certificate.