Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa, popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was the first Kannada writer to receive the Jnanpith Award.
Sudha Murty is an Indian educator, author, and philanthropist. She is married to the co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murty. She was a former chairperson of the non-profit charitable organization Infosys Foundation. In 2024, Murty was nominated as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha on 8 March 2024 for her contribution on social work and education. Murty was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for social work by the Government of India in 2006. In 2023, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India.
Kannada Saahithya Parishath is an Indian non-profit organisation that promotes the Kannada language and its literature. Its headquarters are in the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka, India. It strives to promote Kannada language through publishing books, organising literary seminars and promoting research projects. It also organises an annual conference on Kannada literature called Kannada Sahithya Sammelana. The current president of the parishat is Dr. Mahesh joshi.
Purohita Thirunarayanaiyengar Narasimhachar, commonly known as PuTiNa, was a playwright and poet in the Kannada language. Along with, Kuvempu and D. R. Bendre, he forms the well-known trio of Kannada Navodaya poets. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1991. He was a Sahitya Akademi fellow and the winner of the Pampa Award, awarded by the Government of Karnataka in 1991.
Akkihebbalu Narasimha Murthy Rao was an Indian writer. He wrote in Kannada.
Theerthapura Nanjundaiah Srikantaiah commonly known as 'Thee. Nam. Shree., was a Kannada poet, essayist, editor, translator, linguist and teacher. He was awarded the Pampa Prashasthi for his work on the history and tradition of Indian poetics spanning two millennia titled Bharathiya Kavyamimamse. T. N. Srikantaiah was instrumental in preparing and publishing the Kannada version of Constitution of India in 1952. He is credited with the use of the vernacular equivalent of Rashtrapathi for the English 'President', a usage which is still in vogue. Srikantaiah was responsible for guiding the doctoral theses of Kannada litterateurs like S. Anantanarayan and M. Chidananda Murthy. An active participant in the Kannada Dictionary Project, Srikantaiah later laid the foundations for the Post Graduate Department at Manasa Gangotri campus at University of Mysore.
Hampa Nagarajaiah, popularly known by his pen name Hampanā, is an Indian scholar in Kannada language and Jainism. He was born at Hampasandra Village located in Gowribidanur taluk, Chikkaballapura District in the Indian state of Karnataka. Hampanā is married to Kamala Hampana who also a veteran littérateur.
Chandrashekhara Basavanneppa Kambara is a prominent Indian poet, playwright, folklorist, film director in Kannada language and the founder-vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi also president of the Sahitya Akademi, country's premier literary institution, after Vinayak Krishna Gokak (1983) and U.R. Ananthamurthy (1993). He is known for effective adaptation of the North Karnataka dialect of the Kannada language in his plays, and poems, in a similar style as in the works of D.R. Bendre.
Mysore Venkatadasappa Seetharamiah or M. V. See was an Indian Kannada language author, editor and translator. Through a career spanning over sixty years, he published over 100 works spanning short stories, poetry, novels, and dramas. Some of his notable works included Sri Vijaya kruta Kavirajamarga, a retelling of the classical Kavirajamarga, Udayadityalankara, a work on Kannada poetics, and also other works on ancient Kannada language grammar.
Devegowda Javaregowda, known as De Ja Gou or simply Javaregowda, was an Indian Kannada writer, folklorist, researcher, scholar and academic. He was disciple of authors T.N. Srikantaiah and Kuvempu. His literary career spans over decades in which he wrote over thirty-four biographies in Kannada language and other works including children's literature. He campaigned for the promotion of Kannada language. He had received Pampa Prashasti (1998), Padma Shri (2001) and the Karnataka Ratna (2008) awards for his contributions in literature and education. He became a centenarian in 2015 and died on 30 May 2016.
Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa is an Indian novelist, philosopher and screenwriter who writes in Kannada. His work is popular in the state of Karnataka and he is widely regarded as one of modern India's popular novelists. His novels are unique in terms of theme, structure, and characterization. He has been among the top-selling authors in the Kannada language and his books have been translated into Hindi and Marathi which have also been bestsellers.
Taluku Shamarao Venkannaiah (ತ.ಶಾ.ವೆಂಕಣ್ಣಯ್ಯ) was an Indian author and educator. Venkannaiah was born in Shimoga Shimoga district to a native Telugu family. He was named after his father's elder brother T. S. Venkannayya. Residing at Sringeri he had served as principal in JCBM College of Sringeri, Chikmagalur Dist, Karnataka State, South India.
The Nrupatunga Award is an award for excellence in Kannada literature in the Indian state of Karnataka. The award was instituted by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat and is sponsored by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). Instituted in honor of the Rashtrakuta King Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha I, the award carries a purse of ₹700,001. King Nrupatunga finds an important place in the history of India in general and Karnataka in particular for his patronage and contribution to the Kannada language in the 9th century.
Siddalingaiah, was an Indian poet, playwright, and Dalit activist, writing in the Kannada language. He is credited with starting the Dalit-Bandaya movement in Kannada and with starting the genre of Dalit writing. He is one of the founders of the Dalita Sangharsh Samiti along with B. Krishnappa.
Dr. Manu Baligar is an Indian Kannada writer, author, playwright, former civil servant and the current president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat. He hails from Shigli in Gadag district, and is the elder brother of V. P. Baligar, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer and former chairman of Housing and Urban Development Corporation. He was a civil servant in the Karnataka Administrative Service, and retired as the commissioner of Department of Kannada and Culture, Government of Karnataka. He was elected the president of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat, an apex body for the promotion of Kannada language, on 3 March 2016 for a term of three years which was later legally extended to five years. He has been conferred with many coveted honors including the highly prestigious Nadoja Award by the Hampi University in 2019 and also an honorary doctorate for literature from Karnataka University Dharwad. Also, he has been conferred with two gold medals for his exemplary work on IRDP during his career as a civil servant.
Veerabhadrappa Kumbar, popularly known by the pen name KumVee, is an Indian novelist, poet, story writer and critic in the Kannada-language. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2007 for his work Aramane.
Kamala Hampana is an Indian writer in Kannada language and Jainism. She was born at Devanahalli, Bangalore, Karnataka. She worked as a scholar, a professor, and a follower of ancient Archaic works. She has undertaken serious study and research in various genres of Kannada literature and has developed some of the most serious ideas of various genres.
Chidananda Parasappa Siddhashrama, known as CPS or Prof. Siddhashrama, is an Indian academic, writer, critic, and poet who is known for his works in Kannada. He is a retired professor of Mysore University where he served as the acting Vice Chancellor. In 2020, for his contributions to the field of literature, Siddhashrama has been awarded the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award by Government of Karnataka.
Chikkanayakanahalli Puttegowda Krishnakumar, commonly known as C. P. Krishnakumar or CPK, is an Indian academic, writer, poet, folklorist, critic and translator in Kannada. CPK has published more than 100 literary works in different genres including poetry, criticism, translation. He was the president at the 78th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana held in Gangavati in 2011.
B.S Sannaiah was an Indian writer in Kannada language. He was born in Bhoganahalli, Piriyapatna talluk, Mysore, Karnataka. He worked as a Editor, Textual critic and a follower and protector of ancient Archaic works & manuscripts. He had undertaken study and research in various manuscript works in Kannada & jain literature and made some of the major contributions in the field.
