Roy's debut novel The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize for Fiction at a ceremony at London's Guildhall.
On 14 October 1997, Arundhati Roy's debut novel The God of Small Things was awarded the prestigious Booker Prize for Fiction at a formal ceremony held at London's historic Guildhall. The novel, a semi-autobiographical family saga set in Kerala exploring themes of forbidden love, caste, and childhood trauma, had captivated critics and readers alike since its publication earlier that year.
The award ceremony brought international attention to a work that many critics praised for its lyrical, inventive prose style and its unflinching examination of India's rigid social hierarchies, particularly the caste system and its intersection with gender and sexuality. The novel had already generated a bidding war among publishers and became a global bestseller even before the prize was announced.
Winning one of the world's most prestigious literary honors validated Roy's experimental narrative style, which broke from conventional linear storytelling to weave together multiple timelines and perspectives. The Guildhall ceremony, attended by literary luminaries and press from around the world, marked the moment when contemporary Indian writing in English decisively entered the highest echelons of global literary recognition, paving the way for a new generation of South Asian authors writing in English.