The Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards for 2009 were announced here on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference here, Akademi president P. Valsala said an executive meeting decided the award in each category. Vishnu Narayanan Namboodiri and Punathil Kunjabdulla have been selected for Akademi's fellowships.
The awards carry a purse of Rs. 50,000, a gold locket, citation and plaque each. Ettumanoor Somadasan, Erumeli Parameswaran Pillai, G. Balakrishnan Nair and P.V.K. Panayal were chosen for awards for overall contribution. The awards carry a cash prize of Rs. 30,000, a ponnada and plaque each. Benyamin's ‘Aadujeevitham' was adjudged the best novel.
Other categories
The awards in the other categories are as follows:
Poetry: N. K. Desam (Mudra); drama: K. M. Raghavan Nambyar (Swathanthryam thanne jeevitham); short-story: K.R. Meera (Ave Maria); literary criticism: K.S. Ravikumar (Aakhyanathinte Adarukal); scholarly literature: Vijaya Kumar Menon (Sthalam Kalam Kala); biography/autobiography: T.J.S. George (Ghoshayatra); travelogue: Raveendran (Ente Keralam); translation: K. Sachithanandan (Padinjaran Kavithakal); children's literature: A. Vijayan (Muyalchevi) and humour: Marshal (Ronald Reaganum Balan Mashum). The awards carry a purse of Rs.25,000, citation and plaque each.
