Telugu literature is the body of works written in the Telugu language. It consists of poems, short stories, novels, plays, and song lyrics, among others. There is some indication that Telugu literature dates at least to the middle of the first millennium, the first extant works are from the 11th century when the Mahabharata was first translated to Telugu from Sanskrit by Nannaya but there were signs that Telugu literature was already existing. The language has experienced a golden age under the patronage of the Vijayanagara Emperor-Poet Krishnadevaraya.
P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist. She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema. She is also considered the first female director of Telugu cinema with her debut directorial Chandirani (1953). Bhanumathi appeared in over 100 films predominantly in Telugu and Tamil languages. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for her contribution to the Indian cinema. She was honored among "women in cinema" at the 30th International Film Festival of India.
Kethu Viswanatha Reddy, also known as Ketu Visvanathareddi, was an Indian short story writer, novelist, and essayist. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu in 1996 for his short story Kethu Viswanatha Reddy Kathalu.
Madhurantakam Rajaram was an Indian author who is considered one of the foremost of modern Telugu short story writers. He is the winner of Sahitya Akademi Award of 1993 and Katha prize for short stories for the years 1991 and 1993.
Bhargavi Prabhanjan Rao, a Sahitya Akademi awardee, was an eminent translator in Telugu Literature. She was actively involved in translating various works of author and playwright Girish Karnad. Her most famous works include Noorella Panta, a compilation of one hundred short stories by women writers of the twentieth century. She died due to a heart attack on 23 May 2008 in Hyderabad.
Nayani Krishnakumari was an Indian scholar, poet, researcher, speaker in Telugu and an active participant in literary and cultural organizations. She served several institutions in various capacities. She received several awards such as Swarnakankanam, instituted by Desoddharaka Kasinathuni Nageswara Rao, Best Telugu Writer award from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, and Sahitya Akademi among others.
Balivada Kanta Rao was a noted Telugu novelist and playwright.
Tenneti Hemalata,, better known as Lata, is a Telugu writer from Andhra Pradesh, India. She was a prolific and influential writer who wrote about various situations through the perspective of an educated Niyogi Brahmin woman. Some of her novels, like 'galipadagaloo nitibudagalu ' raised controversies. She was said to be a liberal but her writings had a solid base of tradition too.
Bhandaru Acchamamba was one of the pioneers in the early stages of women's movement. She is regarded as one of the early feminist historians in India. Acchamamba studied Telugu, English and Hindi classics under her brother's guidance and became knowledgeable in literature and women's issues. She wrote several biographies of Telugu and British women, which laid path for future historians. Her stories reflect the social conditions of her times and women's issues.
Rayasam Venkata Tripurantakeswara Rao popularly known as Tripura is a famous Telugu short story writer of the 1960s and 1970s. He was born on 2 September 1928 in Purushottampur Tehsil of Ganjam District of Orissa state, India. His father was a surgeon and worked in Government Hospital there.
Potturi Vijayalakshmi is a Telugu writer well known for her humorous short stories.
Abburi Chayadevi was a Telugu Indian fiction writer. She won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005, for her work Tana Margam.
Syed Saleem is a Telugu writer. He has written thirty novels, about 300 short stories and more than 150 poems. His fiction has been translated into English, Hindi, Marathi, Oriya, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil languages. His work is characterized by his humanitarianism and soothing poetic expression. One of his best known works is his Telugu novel Kaluthunna Poolathota, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu, 2010.
Vempalli Gangadhar is a writer from Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. He has been awarded Sahitya Akademi's Yuva Puraskar for 2011 for his short-story collection "Molakala Punnami".
Kolakaluri Enoch is an Indian writer, teacher, and former Vice Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of literature.
Dr. Papineni Sivasankar, a doyen of Modern Literature in Telugu, recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, 2016 is an Indian poet, short story writer, and critic.
Malathi Chendur was a popular Indian writer, novelist and columnist. She started her career as a novelist in 1949 and went on to write 26 novels in the Telugu language. She also translated more than 300 novels from other languages into Telugu. In 1992, she was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Hrudaya Netri. She wrote a weekly column, "Pramadaavanam", in the Andhra Prabha newspaper which appeared continuously for 47 years.
Nandini Sidda Reddy is a teacher, writer, poet, songwriter and social activist from the state of Telangana, India. He is known for promoting Telugu culture. Several of his songs have been featured in Telugu language films. He was one of the leaders of the Telangana movement to make Telangana a separate state from Andhra Pradesh, which took place in 2014. He was the first Chairman of the Telangana Sahitya Akademi.
Asavadi Prakasa Rao was an Indian poet, critic, translator and scholar, who is known for his poetry and prose works. He is noted for his significant contribution to Telugu and Sanskrit literature. In January 2021, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri in the Arts and Literature category. As Ashtavadhani, he has given 170 performances and has written and published 50 books across various genres. His most notable literary contribution is his performance of Avadhanam – a literary performance. He has received an honorary D Litt from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University and a Distinguished Teacher award from the Department of Higher Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Venna Vallabha Rao is an Indian author, poet, and translator from Hindi to Telugu and vice versa. He is a recipient of the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Award. for his translation work Viraamamerugani Payanam based on Khanabadosh which is an autobiography of Punjabi writer Ajeet Cour.
