Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. He shot into fame at the age of 20 when, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. His first major novel Naalukettu, written at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. His other novels include Manju (Mist), Kaalam (Time), Asuravithu and Randamoozham. The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.
Sugathakumari was an Indian poet and activist, who was at the forefront of environmental and feminist movements in Kerala, South India. Her parents were the poet and freedom fighter Bodheswaran and V. K. Karthiyayini Amma, a Sanskrit scholar. She was the founder secretary of the Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi, an organisation for the protection of nature, and of Abhaya, a home for destitute women and a day-care centre for the mentally ill. She chaired the Kerala State Women's Commission. She played a prominent role in the Save Silent Valley protest.
Attoor Ravi Varma was an Indian poet and translator of Malayalam literature. One of the pioneers of modern Malayalam poetry, Ravi Varma is a recipient of Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation, besides many other honours. The Government of Kerala honoured him with their highest literary award, the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, in 2012 and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi inducted him as their distinguished fellow in 2017.
Moorkkanaat Krishnankutty Menon, better known by his pen name Vilasini, was an Indian writer from Kerala who wrote in Malayalam-language. He is the author of India's longest novel, Avakasikal, for which he won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981 and Vayalar Award in 1983. His first novel Niramulla Nizhalukal won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1966.
Punathil Kunjabdulla was an Indian writer from Kerala. A medical doctor by profession, Kunjabdulla was a practitioner of the avant-garde in Malayalam literature. His work includes more than 45 books, including 7 novels, 15 short story collections, memoirs, an autobiography and travelogues. His work Smarakasilakal won the Central and State Akademi Awards.
N. P. Mohammed, popularly known by his initials N. P., was an Indian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Malayalam language. Along with his contemporaries like M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. V. Vijayan, Kakkanadan, and Madhavikutty, he was known to have been one of the pioneers of modernist movement in Malayalam fiction. He was the president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and a recipient of several awards including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Lalithambika Antharjanam Award, Padmaprabha Literary Award and the Muttathu Varkey Award.
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories. The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is also awarded to induct Malayalam writers as distinguished members of the Akademi.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing poetry of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing a novel of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing a story of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing a drama of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Literary Criticism is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing literary criticism. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing a biography or autobiography of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Travelogue is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing a travelogue of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to writers for translating a work from a foreign language to Malayalam. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Children's Literature is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing children's literature of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for their overall contributions to Malayalam literature. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Scholarly Literature is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing scholarly literature of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is an honour of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, given to writers of Malayalam literature by inducting them as the distinguished members of the Akademi.
