New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) Indias most coveted literary award, The Rs 25 lakh JCB Prize for Literature, has collaborated with Kindle India to make its entire longlist from the past two years available at 40-70 per cent off till April 30 as an extension of its commitment to give back to the reading community, boost readership of books and foster conversations amid the trying times brought on by the COVID-19 lockdown.

Keeping in mind the impact of a global lockdown on the publishing industry, the JCB Foundation has made an effort to balance the interests of both the industry and the readers by collaborating with Kindle India to make texts available at the maximum discount possible instead of making them available for free.

The books available under this initiative include 2019 winner "The Far Field" by Madhuri Vijay, "Ib's Endless Search for Satisfaction" by Roshan Ali and "Poonachi" (The story of a black goat) by Perumal Murugan, among others.

Aligning with the JCB Foundation's core mission to promote Indian literature and making literary works more accessible and inclusive, books originally written in regional languages are available in both their original and translated versions. The discounted books can be accessed at the JCB Prize for Literature page on the Kindle store.

Commenting on the initiative, Mita Kapur, Literary Director, The JCB Prize for Literature said: "From a writer's mind to your Kindle screen, a book passes through many hands. In these uncertain times, let us support those in the publishing industry - the printers, distributors, designers, editors and production personnel - who work so hard to bring a book to life. And, most of all, let us support the writers whose words bring joy and hope to your homes."

The JCB Prize for Literature has already initiated an ongoing online series on its Instagram channel (@thejcbprize ), under which, Indian authors takeover the Prize's Instagram Live to interact with readers and aspiring writers and participate in a stimulating conversation about the world of fiction and reality in the times of the COVID-19
pandemic.

In the coming weeks, Indian authors including Roshan Ali (April 15), Perumal Murugan (April 18), Paul Zacharia (April 20) and Sharanya Manivannan (April 22) will participate in the initiative.

--IANS vm/sdr/