The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour given annually to authors of the best books with the highest literary merit that have been published in any of the 24 major Indian languages, including Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, English, Bengali, and Punjabi, as well as the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which are recognised by the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
The 1954-instituted award consists of a plaque and a Rs. 1,00,000 cash reward. The award’s goals are to identify emerging trends in writing as well as to recognise and promote excellence in Indian literature.
Sahitya Akademi Award - History
Before India gained its independence from Britain, the British government had given consideration to the idea of creating a National Academy of Letters. The Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal proposed in 1944 that a National Cultural trust be established to promote cultural endeavours in all sectors, and the Indian government accepted the idea in principle.
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The Indian government formally established the Sahitya Akademi on March 12, 1954. It was described as a national organisation in the Government of India Resolution that established the Akademi’s constitution as working actively for the advancement of Indian letters, setting high literary standards, fostering and coordinating literary activities in all Indian languages, and promoting through them.
Nomination Process for Sahitya Akademi Puraskar
Every year, the Sahitya Akademi selects books from each eligible language from a ground list that has been produced. Two experts have been given the task of creating the ground list. The President of the Sahitya Akademi (hereinafter referred to as the President) selects the experts from among the panels of experts that each member of the Language Advisory Board submits, each of which should contain no more than five names.
The experts are required to adhere precisely to the eligibility requirements outlined in these regulations when creating the ground list. All members of the concerned Language Advisory Board (including the Convener) will get the ground list that has been compiled along with the ground list from the previous year, and they will be asked to recommend two titles each by any date that may be designated by the board.
Sahitya Akademi Award Winner 2021
In 2021, Namita Gokhale won the Sahitaya Akademi Award in the English category for her book Things to Leave Behind. Namita Gokhale, an Indian author, editor, festival director, and publisher, was born in 1956. Since the publication of her first book, Paro: Dreams of Passion, in 1984, she has published both fiction and nonfiction as well as curated nonfiction anthologies.
Namita Gokhale - Sahitaya Akademi Award Winner 2021
The National Academy of Letters of India, Sahitya Akademi, is the only organisation that engages in literary activities in all 24 Indian languages, including English. It serves as the nation’s primary forum for literary discussion, publication, and promotion. Over the course of its vibrant 64-year history, it has continuously worked to advance good taste and healthy reading habits, maintain close communication among the various literary zones and groups through seminars, lectures, symposia, discussions, readings, and performances, speed up mutual translations through workshops and individual assignments, and create a serious literary culture through the publication of journals, monographs, and other scholarly works.
For authors that publish with BlueRose Publishers, we also give out BlueRose Awards. The prize aims to honour notable literary luminaries in the field of literature, regardless of their genre, language, or geographic location. The BlueRose Book Awards are intended to recognise writers who have persistently fought to advance society.
The mission of BlueRose is to compile under one roof the numerous true stories of both established and upcoming authors. This section will give readers and writers a forum to discuss and delve into the many facets of an author’s journey.
