Tamil Nadu government institutes literary award for works in seven Indian languages
Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday announced that the Tamil Nadu government will institute national-level literary awards for outstanding works in select Indian languages.
The CM made the announcement at the valedictory ceremony of the Chennai International Book Fair (CIBF), in the presence of writers, publishers and literary delegates from across India and several foreign countries. This was in response to the cancellation of the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 following the intervention of the Union Ministry of Culture in December.
Announcing the initiative, the CM said the state government would confer annual national-level honours titled the ‘Semmozhi Literary Award’ for outstanding literary works published in select Indian languages. In the first phase, works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali and Marathi will be recognised, with each award carrying a cash prize of `5 lakh.
To ensure transparency and uphold literary standards, separate selection committees comprising eminent writers and award-winning authors will be constituted for each language, he added.