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Parul Kapur wins Interlochen book award
The award also includes a multi-day residency at Interlochen Arts Academy from April 8–10, 2026, and a public event in Traverse City.
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Pranavi Sharma - Wed, 07, Jan 2026
- 02:10 EST
- 19
Indian-origin author Parul Kapur and her book. / Parul Kapur
Indian-origin author Parul Kapur has won Interlochen’s Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award for her novel 'Inside the Mirror', organizers announced. The $25,000 award recognizes outstanding literature in the creative arts.
The award also includes a multi-day residency at Interlochen Arts Academy from April 8–10, 2026, and a public event in Traverse City moderated by New York Times best-selling author Doug Stanton as part of the National Writers Series on April 8, 2026.
Two books were named runners-up: 'Dreams in Double Time: On Race, Freedom', and Bebop by Jonathan Leal and 'My Life in Paper: Adventures in Ephemera' by Beth Kephart. Each runner-up will receive $2,500.
ALSO READ: Indian-origin Kapur & Mukherjee make Interlochen Book Award shortlist
Selection Committee Chair Eric Blackburn said the final decision followed extensive deliberations. “This year's pool of submissions impressed us immensely, but by the end of our deliberations three books identified themselves as our top titles,” he said.
Blackburn described Leal’s book as “a deeply researched and lyrically written exploration of bebop as a space for resistance, disruption, and dreaming new futures into being,” and Kephart’s work as “an inviting and compelling memoir highlighting the ephemeral but deeply meaningful nature of paper as a means for remembering and forgetting, creating and eliding.”
On Kapur’s novel, Blackburn said the committee agreed “no book better captured the spirit of the award or left a more memorable mark on us as readers than Inside the Mirror.” He cited its characters, narrative strength and historical setting in 1950s Bombay, now Mumbai, and its focus on artistic expression.
During her residency, Kapur will take part in an awards ceremony, master classes, a presentation to students and an interview with Interlochen Public Radio.
“This award creates a bridge between extraordinary writers and the young artists who are shaping their own creative voices at Interlochen,” said Trey Devey, president of Interlochen Center for the Arts.
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