I just heard from Narayan himself, who accepted my congratulations. I now understand that Nepalaya, the publisher, submitted copies of the novel to Madan Puraskar Guthi MONTHS before the book's formal launch in Kathmandu in July. That way, the publisher was able to meet Madan Puraskar's nomination/submission deadline, even though the book was only made publicly available (and then went on to make news) much later. Whether "Palpasa Cafe" should have won the award or not is a SEPARATE debate altogether. I have not read the book -- so can't comment. oohi ashu