24 Authors to Receive Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2025

Bhubaneswar: The Sahitya Akademi has announced the names of 24 authors from across India selected for the Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2025, recognising their outstanding contributions to children’s literature.

President Droupadi Murmu will felicitate the awardees at a special ceremony to be held on November 14 at Triveni Auditorium, Tansen Marg, New Delhi. Each awardee will receive a cheque of ₹50,000 and a bronze plaque.

Eminent Gujarati author Varsha Das will grace the occasion as the chief guest, while Kumud Sharma, Vice President of the Sahitya Akademi, will propose the vote of thanks. The welcome address will be delivered by Pallavi Prashant Holkar, Secretary of the Akademi.

Odia author Rajakishore Parhi has been chosen for his poetry collection Kete Phula Phutichi. The Sahitya Akademi will also organise an awardees’ meet on November 15 at Ravindra Bhawan, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi, where the authors will share their creative experiences. The session will be chaired by the Akademi’s Vice President.

This year’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar winners represent 24 Indian languages:

• Assamese: Mainaahantar Padya (Poetry) – Surendra Mohan Das
• Bengali: Ekhono Gaye Kanta Daye (Stories) – Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay
• Bodo: Khanthi Bwswn Arw Akhu Danai (Stories) – Binay Kumar Brahma
• Dogri: Nanhi Tor (Poetry) – P.L. Parihar ‘Shauq’
• English: Dakshin: South Indian Myths and Fables Retold (Stories) – Nitin Kushalappa M.P.
• Gujarati: Tinchak (Poetry) – Kirtida Brahmbhatt
• Hindi: Ek Batey Barah (Non-fiction & Memoir) – Susheel Shukla
• Kannada: Notebook (Short Stories) – K. Shivalingappa Handihal
• Kashmiri: Shure Te Tchure Gyush (Short Stories) – Izhar Mubashir
• Konkani: Belabaicho Shanker Ani Heir Kanyo (Stories) – Nayana Adarkar
• Maithili: Chukka (Short Stories) – Munni Kamat
• Malayalam: Penguinukalude Vankaravil (Novel) – Sreejith Moothedath
• Manipuri: Angangshing-Gee Shannabungshida (Play) – Shanto M.
• Marathi: Abhaimaya (Poetry) – Suresh Govindrao Sawant
• Nepali: Shanti Van (Novel) – Sangmu Lepcha
• Odia: Kete Phula Phutichi (Poetry) – Rajakishore Parhi
• Punjabi: Jaddu Patta (Novel) – Pali Khadim (Amrit Pal Singh)
• Rajasthani: Pankheruv Ni Peeda (Play) – Bhogilal Patidar
• Sanskrit: Balvisvam (Poetry) – Preeti R. Pujara
• Santali: Sona Miru-ag Sandesh (Poetry) – Haralal Murmu
• Sindhi: Asmani Pari (Poetry) – Heena Agnani ‘Heer’
• Tamil: Ottrai Siragu Oviya (Novel) – Vishnupuram Sarvanan
• Telugu: Kaburla Devatha (Story) – Gangisetty Sivakumar
• Urdu: Qaumi Sitare (Articles) – Ghazanfar Iqbal

The Bal Sahitya Puraskar, instituted by the Sahitya Akademi, celebrates excellence in children’s literature and recognises authors who nurture imagination, creativity, and learning through their works.