Overview
- The new annual prize will honor works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali and Marathi, with Rs 5 lakh awarded in each language.
- Tamil Nadu will act as patron while independent committees of reputed writers for each language will select the winners to bolster credibility and transparency.
- Stalin unveiled the initiative at the Chennai International Book Fair’s valedictory event, describing it as a national-level award going forward.
- He linked the move to the Sahitya Akademi’s unannounced 2025 awards, which multiple reports say were halted after directives from the Union Culture Ministry.
- Positioning the plan within his Dravidian governance pitch ahead of the 2026 state elections, Stalin also promised to expand the book fair and build more libraries if re-elected.