Awards
Chitra’s work has been included in over 50 anthologies, including Best American Short Stories, cite>The O’Henry Prize Stories, and The Pushcart Prize Anthology. Her book of short stories, Arranged Marriage, won critical acclaim and the 1996 American Book Award, the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award and the PEN Josephine Miles Award for fiction.
Her literary awards include:
- Cultural Jewel Award, Indian Culture Center, Houston, 2009
- University of California at Berkeley, International House Alumna of the Year Award, 2008
- South Asian Literary Association Distinguished Author Award, 2007
- The Conch Bearer nominated for the Bluebonnet Award, 2004
- Included in Best Books of 2003, Publishers Weekly, The Conch Bearer
- “The Lives of Strangers” included in O’Henry PrizeStories, 2003
- Pushcart Prize,2003.
- Included in Best Books of 2002, Los Angeles Times, The Vine of Desire
- Included in Best Books of 2002, San Francisco Chronicle, The Vine of Desire
- “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter” included in Best American Short Stories, 1999
- Included in Best Paperbacks of 1998, Seattle Times, The Mistress of Spices
- California Arts Council Award, 1998
- Included in Best Books of 1997, Los Angeles Times, The Mistress of Spices
- American Book Award, 1996, for Arranged Marriage
- PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award, 1996, for Arranged Marriage
- Bay Area Book Reviewers Award, Best Fiction, 1996, for Arranged Marriage
- C.Y. Lee Creative Writing Award, 1995
- Allen Ginsberg Poetry Prize, 1994
- Pushcart Prize, 1994
- 2 Pen Syndicated Fiction Awards, 1993 and 1994
- Gerbode Foundation Award, California, 1992
- Honorable mention, Paterson Poetry Prize, 1992, for Black Candle
- Santa Clara Arts Council Award, California 1990, 1994
- Editor’s Choice Award, Cream City Review, 1990
- Barbara Deming Memorial Award, New York, 1989
- The Hackney Literary award, Birmingham-Southern College, Alabama, 1988
