The very first edition of The New Indian Express Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman was announced at the Odisha Literary Festival 2023 to honour wordsmiths and their invaluable contribution to the world of literature.
For a lifetime of speaking against discrimination, Perumal Murugan, the author of Madhorubagan (One Part Woman) and Pookuzhi (Pyre) was awarded the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman for Literary Excellence. Researcher and writer Anirudh Kanisetti won the award in the Best Non-Fiction category for his relentless commitment to unravelling the hidden stories of India's past and bringing history to life while the literary star of 2023, Devika Rege, whose debut novel Quarterlife's depth and maturity astounded one and all, won the award in the Best Fiction category.
The awards were given away by Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik; Bibek Debroy, Chairman, of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and Chair of the Jury, Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman; Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, Chairman and Managing Director, The New Indian Express Group; Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director, TNIE; Santwana Bhattacharya, Editor, TNIE Group and Lakshmi Menon, Chief Executive Officer, TNIE.
This was the fitting end to the two-day Odisha Literary Festival which concluded on September 24, 2023, at Mayfair Convention, Bhubaneswar.
More about the winners:
Perumal Murugan - A litterateur of rare empathy and insight, in his oeuvre of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, he has portrayed the rhythms of rural life with a rare nuance
Anirudh Kanisetti - The author has not just brought to life the stories of kings, courtiers and wars, he has set a context with the evolving literature, faith, arts and material cultures of the times
Devika Rege - The writer has dived into a young and restless India and brought up a story of individual politics and collective avarice. With Quarterlife, she tested the limits of what a novel can achieve