" An award means a lot to them.
It brings happiness along with a kind of fear.
It brings fear because the award is the responsibility that audiences have put on them.
So, winning an award means always trying to give the best to the Readers. "
Kavishala presents the top list of Awards that are given to recognized Authors for their contributions to Literature -
1.Bhartiya Jnanpith Award
The Jnanpith Award is recognized as the highest literary award given to Indian authors by Government. The recipient receives a cash prize of Rs. 11 lakhs along with a statue of the Goddess Saraswati. It's only for Indian Writers exclusively, and it has to be for work in any one of the languages recognized in the Indian Constitution. Conceived in the year 1961 by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Times of India group. Let us tell you that the first recipient of the award was G. Sankara Kurup for his Malayalam contribution named Otakuzhal in 1965 and in 2017 it was awarded to Krishna Sobti for Zindaginama.
Here's a list of some most recent Award Winners -
Year Author Language
2012 - Ravauri Bharadwaja in Telegu
2013 - Kedarnath Singh in Hindi
2014 - Bhalchandra Nemade in Marathi
2015- Dr. Raghuvir Chaudhari in Gujarati
2016 - Shanka Ghosh in Bengali
2017 - Krishna Sobti in Hindi
2018 - Amitav Ghosh in English
2019-Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri in Malayalam
They received this award because of their true dedication to writing wonderful heart-touching fables that would be remembered till posterity.
2. Sahitya Akademi Award
In 2016, the winners of the Sahitya Akademi Award were Jerry Pinto, for English Novel Em and the Big Hoom, Nasira Sharma for Parijat in Hindi, and Kamal Vora for his Gujarati poetry Anekek.In 1954, this award was established and given annually to Indian writers who have written in any of the 24 languages. Along with a bronze plaque, the writer is awarded Rs. 1 lakh. Rajasthani is also acknowledged as a language by the Sahitya Akademi despite not being an official Indian language.
And this is awarded to the most prestigious Authors of all time and here is the most recent Awardees of Sahitya Akademi Award.
Year Author Work Work Type
2013 - Mridula Garg for Miljul Man , Novel
2014-Ramesh Chandra Shah for Vinayak , Novel
2015-Ramdarash Mishra for Aag Ki Hansi ,Poetry
2016 - Nasira Sharma for Parijat , Novel
2017-Ramesh Kuntal Megh for Vishw Mithak Sarit Sagar
2018-Chitra Mudgal for Post Box No. 203 Nala Sopara ,Novel
2019-Nand Kishore AcharyaChheelatey Hue Apne Ko,Poetry
2020 - Anamika for Tokri Mein Digant 'Their Gatha, Poetry
3. Yuva Puraskar
This Award consists of a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 along with a copper plaque. In 2017 winners included Raam Mori and Shamik Ghosh for their respective works Mahotu and Elvis O Amolasundari in Gujarati and Bengali respectively. Initiated in 2011, the Yuva Puraskar is provided by the Sahitya Akademi to promote Literature among youths. It's mandatory for the awardee to be under the age of 35 and have written in one of the 24 dialects recognized by the Sahitya Akademi.
Let's recognize the great people who received this honor on the basis of their caliber -
Year Book Author
2020 - Megh-Ghora (Poetry), Dwijen Das
2019 - Ei Pine Ki Ase? (Short Story) , Sanjib Pol Deka
2018 - Mou-Makshi Samrajya (Short Stories), Bipasha Bora
2017 - Xodhahe Nohol Tok o Bokul (Poetry), Pratim Baruah
2016 - Zantadhari (Novel) , Prarthana Saikia
2015 - Akale Aso Kushale Aso (Poetry), Mridul Haloi
2014 - Jahar Mahar (Short Stories), Manika Devee
4. Crossword Book Award
"Crossword Book Award" is an honor given to Indian Authors who promote writing in English. The latest released entry into the literary awards list is the Crossword Book Award which was established by the national bookstore chain. Now, it also includes an award for an Indian work that has been translated into English. In 2016, Amitav Ghosh won a jury award for Flood of Fire and Amish Tripathi won a popular award for Scion of Ikshvaku. To our surprise after 15 years, this award has evolved into 4 Jury and 7 popular awards lists, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Management Book of Year Recognition.
This award was initially for a single work of fiction by an Indian citizen. In 2000, an additional prize was offered for Indian writing in any Indian language translated into English. There was no award between 2001–03. But, starting in 2004 the award was sponsored by Hutch Essar an Indian telecommunications company and named the Hutch Crossword Book Award.
Awardees of the year 2018 are as follows -
In Indian Fiction: BY Jury Prayaag Akbar for Book ( Leila).
In Indian Non-Fiction: BY JurySnigdha Poonam for Book (Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing The World)
Indian Language Fiction: BY Benyamin for (Jasmine Days).
Children's Literature: BY JuryNandhika Nambi for (Unbroken).
Indian Fiction: BY Durjoy Datta for Book (The Boy Who Loved).
Indian Non-Fiction: BY Sudha Murthy for Book (Three Thousand Stitches)
Children's Literature: BY Ruskin Bond for Book (Looking For The Rainbow)
Business & Management:BY Chandramouli Venkatesan (Catalyst)
Biography: BY Soha Ali Khan (The Perils of Being Moderately Famous)
Health & Fitness: BY Sanjeev Kapoor for Book (You’ve Lost Weight: The Easy Guide To Receiving This Compliment Every Day).
5.Saraswati Samman
This award considers works published in the last ten years. Such as Oriya poet Ramakanta Rath’s winning poem Sri Radha, which was published in 1984 but won the award in 1992. Mainly in 1991, the Saraswati Samman was instituted by K. K. Birla Foundation. Although it is a private award, it gives a cash award of Rs. 15 lakhs as compared to other Government awards. But, It is awarded limited to only writers in the 22 Indian languages recognized by the Constitution excluding the English language. The very first Awardee was India’s most celebrated poet, Harivansh Rai Bachchan who was eminently known for his works. And most recently it was awarded to Sri Mahabaleshwar Sail in 2016 for his Konkani novel Hawthorn.
Year Author Work Language
2015 - Padma Sachdev "Chitt-Chete"(Autobiography) Dogri
2016 - Mahabaleshwar Sail "Hawthorn" (Novel) Konkani
2017 - Sitanshu Yashaschandra "Vakhar"(Poetry collection) Gujarati
2018 - K Siva Reddy "Pakkaki Ottigilite" (Poetry) Telugu
2019 - Vasdev Mohi "Chequebook" (Short Series) Sindhi
2020 - Sharankumar Limbale "Sanatan" (Novel) Marathi
Thus Saraswati Samman is annually awarded for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 22 Indian languages listed in Schedule VIII of Indian Constitution .It is named after an Indian Goddess of Knowledge "Maa Saraswati".