BHUBANESWAR: Odia poet and writer Suryasnata Tripathy will receive the SOA Yuva Sahitya Puraskar 2025 at the valedictory session of the 3rd SOA literary festival to be held at SOA (deemed to be university), on November 30.
Tripathy, who currently serves as an assistant professor at IIT-Ropar, has been nominated for his short story collection ‘Thia Puchi Naranga’, published in 2024. The collection features 12 stories that reflect his keen insight into human emotion and contemporary experience. He will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh along with a citation, a silver plaque and a shawl.
Instituted this year, the SOA Yuva Sahitya Puraskar seeks to encourage and celebrate emerging voices in Odia literature, recognising originality and promise across genres such as poetry, fiction, drama and criticism.
Tripathy is the author of seven poetry anthologies, one short story collection, and an Odia translation of Dharamvir Bharati’s ‘Kanupriya’. Recipient of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar (2017), he is also an accomplished playwright associated with Hyderabad-based theatre groups KASH, Kissa Go and Play of Shiva. His recent venture into cinema includes the Odia feature film ‘Indradhanu’, along with two short films, ‘Maatimuhana’ (Odia) and ‘Khidkiyaan’ (Hindi).
Organised by SOA and conducted by its centre PPRACHIN, the festival will be held on November 29 and 30 with the theme ‘Culture, Creativity and Artificial Intelligence’.
Around 100 eminent writers, poets, artists, and thinkers from across India will participate in the festival, which will feature 30 sessions over the two days, said Gayatribala Panda, head of PPRACHIN and festival director.