New Delhi, December 22: Sahitya Academy, India’s National Academy of Letters, announced the winners recognizing the literary works of 24 writers writing in 24 Indian languages. The awards will be conferred upon the winners during a ceremony on February 12 next year.
"Seven books of novels, five of poetry, five of short stories, five of literary criticism and one of play and essays have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2017," K Sreenivasarao, Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, said.
Mamang Dais hailing from Arunachal has been selected for his English novel "The Black Hill", and Niranjan Mishra is in the list of winners for his Sanskrit novel "Gangaputravadanam", K P Ramanunni has won for "Daivathinte Pusthakam" in Malayalam and Nachhattar for his Punjabi novel "Slow Down".
The poets who feature in the list of winners are Udaya Narayana Singh (Maithili), Shrikant Deshmukh (Marathi), Bhujanga Tudu (Santali), Inqulab (Tamil) and Devipriya (Telugu).
Five writers awarded for their short stories are Shiv Mehta (Dogri), Autar Krishen Rahbar (Kashmiri), Gajanan Jog (Konkani), Gayatri Saraf (Odia), and Baig Ehsas (Urdu).
Ramesh Kuntal Megh (Hindi), T P Ashoka (Kannada), Urmi Ghanshyam Desai (Gujarati), Bina Hangkhim (Nepali), and Neeraj Daiya (Rajasthani) have been recognised for their literary criticism. Jagdish Lachhani (Sindhi) for his essays and Rajen Toijamba (Manipuri) for his play are also among the winners.
The award, given for books published between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2015, includes a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh.
Sahitya Academy Awards was established in 1954 by the government of India, which preserves and promotes literature contained in twenty four Indian languages recognized through Fellowships, Grants, Publications, Literary Programmes, Workshops and Exhibitions.