Mumbai-based writer Jerry Pinto, Tamil author Vannadhasan, Hindi writer Nasira Sharma are among 24 writers named for the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Awards 2016.
- The awards have been given out to books first published between January 2010 and December 2014. All winners will be given a casket containing a cheque of Rs 1 lakh, a shawl and an engraved copper plaque at a special ceremony on February 22, 2017.
- The books that have won the award includes eight books of poetry, seven of short stories, five novels, two books of criticism, one book of essays and one of play. The books were chosen on the basis of recommendations made by a jury of three in the languages concerned.
Winners for Novels
- Nasira Sharma: Hindi novel Paarijat
- Jerry Pinto: English novel Em and the Big Hoom
- Gita Upadhyay: Nepali novel Janmabhumi Mero Swadesh
- Boluwaru Mohammad Kunhi: Kannada novel Swatantryada Ota
- Edwin JF D’souza: Konkani novel “Kale Bhangar”.
Winners for Poetry
Jnan Pujari (Assamese), Anju (Bodo), Kamal Vora (Gujarati), Prabha Varma (Malayalam), Sitanath Acharya (Sanskrit), Gobinda Chandra Majhi (Santali), Nand Javeri (Sindhi) and Papini Svasankar (Telugu).
Winners for Short Stories
Chhatrapal (Dongri language), Shyam Darihare (Maithili), Moirangthem Rajen (Manipuri), Asaram Lomate (Marathi), Paramamita Satpathy (Odia), Bulaki Sharma (Rajasthani) and Vannadhasan (Tamil).
Winners for Books on Criticism: Aziz Hajini (Kashmiri) and Nizam Siddiqui (Urdu)
Winner for Essay: Nrisinghaprasad Bhaduri (Bengali)
Winner for Play: Swarajbir (Punjabi)
About Jerry Pinto
Jerry Pinto (born 1966) is a Mumbai-based Indian writer of poetry, prose and children’s fiction in English language, as well as a journalist.
- His work, Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb (2006) won the Best Book on Cinema Award at the 54th National Film Awards. His first novel Em and The Big Hoom was published in 2012. Pinto won the Windham-Campbell prize in 2016 for his fiction.
About Vannadasan
Vannadasan aka Kalyanji is a Tamil writer from India born in 1946. He writes short stories and non-fiction articles under the pseudonym of Vannadhasan and poems under Kalyanji.
- He won Sahitya Akademi Award (2016) for Tamil for his short story collection Oru Siru Isai. He is a retired bank employee.
About Nasira Sharma
Nasira Sharma a Hindi Writer born and brought up in Allahabad. She has written many verses and stories in the Hindi language.
- She has written the female writing marks ‘Khshitijpar’. She has written many books such as Bookthan, Patthar gali.
About The Sahitya Akademi Award
The Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India.
- Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government and situated at Rabindra Bhavan near Mandi House in Delhi.
- Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the twenty-four major Indian languages.