Nine distinguished litterateurs have been selected for the prestigious Bangla Academy Literary Award 2025, one of the highest recognitions in Bengali literature.
In a press release issued on Monday (February 23), Director General Mohammad Azam of Bangla Academy announced the names of the awardees across eight categories: poetry, fiction, essay and prose, children’s literature, translation, research, science and liberation war.
This year’s recipients are: Mohan Raihan – Poetry; Nasima Anis – Fiction; Syed Azizul Haque – Essay/Prose; Hasan Hafiz – Children’s Literature; Ali Ahmed – Translation; Mustafa Majid and Israel Khan – Research (jointly); Farsim Mannan Mohammadi – Science; and Maidul Hasan – Liberation War.
According to the notification, the selections were made based on recommendations from the Proposal Committee and finalised by the Bangla Academy Literary Award Committee. The Executive Council of the Academy subsequently approved the list.
The awards will be formally presented by Tarique Rahman at the inauguration ceremony of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair on February 26.
Introduced in 1960, five years after the establishment of Bangla Academy in 1955, the award has long been regarded as a defining milestone in a writer’s career. Over the decades, it has honoured some of the most influential voices in Bengali literature.
In previous years, the award covered up to 11 branches. Last year, it was reduced to 10, with the ‘Bangabandhu Affairs Research’ category dropped. This year, the number has been brought down to eight, with drama and dramatic literature as well as folklore excluded from the list.
The revised structure signals a notable shift in focus, even as the award continues to celebrate excellence in Bengali letters. For the nine recipients, February 26 will mark a crowning moment in careers shaped by words, ideas and enduring contributions to the literary landscape.