Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025

• 18 Mar 2026

Source: TH 

The Sahitya Akademi announced the Sahitya Akademi awards 2025 across 24 languages, honoring 8 poetry collections, 4 novels, 6 short story books, 2 essays, 1 literary criticism, 1 autobiography, and 2 memoirs.  

• Notable winners include former diplomat Navtej Sarna for his English novel Crimson Spring, Hindi writer Mamta Kalia for her memoir Jeete Jee Allahabad and in the literary criticism genre, Tamil author Sa Tamilselvan for Thamiz Sirukathaiyin Thadangal. 
• The award follows a July 2025 MoU between the Ministry of Culture and its 4 autonomous institutions—the National School of Drama, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, and Sahitya Akademi—mandating a restructuring of awards in consultation with the Ministry. 

Sahitya Akademi Awards 

• About: The Sahitya Akademi Award, established in 1954, is the 2nd highest literary honor in India (after the Jnanpith Award) that recognises exceptional literary merit and promotes the country's rich multilingual heritage  
  • It is conferred annually by the Sahitya Akademi, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture.  
•  Linguistic Coverage: The award is presented in 24 languages, which notably includes the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, plus English and Rajasthani.  
• Eligibility: The work must be an original contribution published within the 5 years preceding the award year. The author must be an Indian citizen. 
• Nature of the Award: One award is given per language each year for the most outstanding original book in recognized genres (such as poetry, novel, drama, or essays) published in the preceding five years.  
  • The recipient receives a copper plaque, a shawl, a citation, and a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000 (which has been steadily increased from its original value of Rs 5,000 in 1955). 
• Other Notable Sahitya Akademi Honors: Yuva Puraskar (for young writers), Bal Sahitya Puraskar (for children's literature), Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, Bhasha Samman, etc.

Read More: Sahitya Akademi Award 2024