To be eligible for the award, the work must be an "outstanding contribution to the language and literature to which it belongs".
Rules and criteria for submissions Īlthough the Akademi is under the control of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, it functions as an autonomous body. As of 2015, the award has been presented to 56 writers. Chellappa (2001), Melaanmai Ponnuchamy (2008). Alagirisami (1970), Aadhavan Sundaram (1987), C.
Posthumous recipients of the award include Kalki Krishnamurthy (1956), Bharathidasan (1969), Ku. Sethu Pillai, who was honored for his collection of essays entitled Tamil Inbam in 1955. In Tamil, the first recipient of the award was R. The inaugural edition of the award recognised works in twelve languages – Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. As of 2015, the award comprises a plaque and a cash prize of ₹1 lakh (US$1,300). The annual process of selecting awardees runs for the preceding twelve months. Instituted in 1954, the award recognizes and promotes excellence in writing and acknowledge new trends. The awards are given for works published in any of the 24 languages recognised by the akademi. The Akademi annually confers on writers of "the most outstanding books of literary merit". The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, aims at "promoting Indian literature throughout the world". The Sahitya Akademi Award is the second-highest literary honor in India.
Award for the most outstanding books of literary merit