Arundhati Roy's 'Mother Mary Comes To Me' wins National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography 2025
Washington DC, March 28
Author Arundhati Roy's book 'Mother Mary Comes To Me' has won the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography on Saturday.
The National Book Critics Circle Award announced the winners for the books published in English in six categories, which include Fiction, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Poetry, and Criticism.
Arundhati Roy's 'Mother Mary Comes To Me' was in contention for the award with other finalists including Geraldine Brooks' 'Memorial Days', Beth Macy's 'Paper Girl', Hanif Kureishi's 'Shattered' and Miriam Toews' 'A Truce That Is Not Peace'
Taking to their Instagram, Arundhati Roy and Scribner Books shared the winner's announcement by the NBCC on Saturday.
"MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME has won the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography! Congratulations, Arundhati Roy," wrote Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy's autobiography 'Mother Mary Comes to Me' traces Roy's complex relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, a fierce and formidable force who shaped Arundhati's life both as a woman and a writer.
This marks the second novel of Arundhati, which comes after a 20-year gap during which she wrote essays that earned her both reverence and vilification and is also her first memoir.
Arundhati Roy won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1997 for her debut novel, The God of Small Things. She was the first Indian woman to win this prize, which is awarded for the best original novel written in English and published in the UK.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Congratulations to her! From Booker to this, she's a true literary icon. Though I must respectfully say, her political essays have often divided opinion back home. But her talent as a storyteller is undeniable. Winning an autobiography award for writing about your mother is very Indian core.
Interesting to see this news from India. The NBCC award is a big deal in literary circles here. The synopsis about the mother-daughter dynamic sounds universal yet deeply personal. Competing with Geraldine Brooks is no small feat. Well deserved.
As an Indian reader, I have mixed feelings. The God of Small Things was magical. Her non-fiction, while bold, sometimes felt one-sided. But a memoir about her mother? That I will read. Our relationships with our parents, especially strong mothers, define so much of who we are. Jai ho!
First Indian woman to win the Booker, and now this. She puts Indian English literature on the map consistently. Hope this encourages more of our authors to tell their personal stories. The title itself is so intriguing – "Mother Mary Comes To Me".
The literary world has been waiting for her second book for so long! An autobiography makes perfect sense. The essay years were clearly building towards this moment of personal reflection. A worthy winner.
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