With immense pride and admiration, The Rise Insight congratulates Tanuj Bali on the prestigious nomination of his hauntingly original novel, The Mirror That Bleeds: A Memory Written in Blood, for the TRI Literary Awards 2025 (Season 03) in the Fiction (Horror) category. This thrilling, cerebral, and psychologically rich masterpiece has shaken the very foundations of modern horror fiction, earning Bali a well-deserved place among this year’s most groundbreaking literary voices.
This recognition is not merely a nod to the brilliance of storytelling—it is a testament to the fearlessness and depth with which the author explores the darkest corners of memory, myth, and identity. In an age where horror is often reduced to the grotesque, The Mirror That Bleeds resurrects the genre’s literary soul, offering readers not just fear—but reflection, obsession, and revelation.
Why The Mirror That Bleeds Was Chosen by the TRI Literary Awards
The TRI Literary Awards were founded on the principles of recognizing innovation, thematic richness, and emotional resonance in literature—and Tanuj Bali’s novel delivers all three in exceptional measure. The judges were unanimous in their praise, noting the book’s narrative audacity, stylistic brilliance, and philosophical undertones that linger long after the final chapter.
1. A Groundbreaking Concept: Horror Reimagined
At the heart of The Mirror That Bleeds lies a truly visionary premise—a cursed mirror and a bleeding book that together dismantle reality, one memory at a time. Tanuj Bali does not just write horror; he redefines it. The novel avoids tired tropes and instead ventures into gothic psychological horror, where the fear is not only what lies outside, but what has been buried within us.
Orin Vesper’s descent into madness, memory, and identity is not just chilling—it’s metaphysical. It interrogates the nature of self and consciousness, the fragility of time, and the price of truth. These thematic layers elevate the novel from a genre piece to a literary exploration of human experience through a horror lens.
2. Stunning Narrative Structure and Style
Bali’s prose is at once poetic and piercing—each sentence laced with dread, each chapter a descent into deeper, darker waters. The non-linear structure mirrors the psychological fragmentation of the protagonist, drawing the reader into a dreamscape where nothing is quite real and everything is significant.
The use of the “Forgotten Thirteen”—mythic entities that represent the erasure of fundamental aspects of being—is both terrifying and intellectually stimulating. They are not just monsters; they are metaphors. Each one symbolizes a sacred concept, and their return signifies a profound unmaking of the world as we know it.
3. Complex Characters and Emotional Depth
While the plot is driven by mythic horror, it is grounded by the emotional weight of Orin’s character and his mysterious twin—the one the world has forgotten. The exploration of fractured identity, sibling bonds, and existential loneliness gives the novel a psychological realism that anchors its fantastical elements. The horror is not just external; it is deeply intimate.
Bali’s treatment of memory—as both salvation and curse—adds an emotional gravity that is rare in horror fiction. Orin isn’t simply fighting monsters; he is fighting the loss of his very self.
4. Original World-Building and Literary Allusion
The fictional universe Tanuj Bali creates is rich in symbolism, allegory, and surrealist imagination. The bleeding book, the house that shouldn’t exist, the collapsing timelines—these are not just horror set-pieces; they are meta-textual commentaries on the act of storytelling itself.
In many ways, The Mirror That Bleeds is a book about books, about memory as literature and literature as memory. The novel nods to gothic traditions while carving its own unique space in contemporary fiction. The TRI panel especially appreciated how Bali merges horror, fantasy, and philosophical fiction into a single cohesive and gripping narrative.
5. A Work That Lingers Beyond the Last Page
What truly set The Mirror That Bleeds apart was the afterglow it left on the reader—a sense of having not just read a story, but lived through an experience. It is a rare gift in literature to create a book that not only entertains but transforms.
Tanuj Bali’s work forces the reader to reckon with what they would rather forget—to examine their own reflections and question the stories they’ve been told. It is a chilling reminder that memory itself can be haunted… and rewritten.
A Rising Star in Indian Speculative Fiction
With The Mirror That Bleeds, Tanuj Bali has cemented himself as a bold and imaginative force in Indian fiction. His writing pushes boundaries—both stylistically and thematically—and invites readers into worlds that are as terrifying as they are thought-provoking.
His ability to blend classic horror atmosphere with modern psychological insight makes him a trailblazer for a new generation of genre-bending writers. Winning the TRI nomination is just the beginning. Tanuj Bali’s voice is one that will echo in literary halls—and reader minds—for years to come.
Once again, congratulations to Tanuj Bali.
Your mirror may bleed, but your words live—powerfully, hauntingly, and indelibly.
The Rise Insight is honored to celebrate your vision, courage, and creativity. May this nomination inspire more readers to open the book that rewrites reality… even if it costs them something.
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