CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday announced that the Tamil Nadu government will institute national-level literary awards for outstanding works in select Indian languages.
The CM made the announcement at the valedictory ceremony of the Chennai International Book Fair (CIBF), in the presence of writers, publishers and literary delegates from across India and several foreign countries. This was in response to the cancellation of the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 following the intervention of the Union Ministry of Culture in December.
Announcing the initiative, the CM said the state government would confer annual national-level honours titled the ‘Semmozhi Literary Award’ for outstanding literary works published in select Indian languages. In the first phase, works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali and Marathi will be recognised, with each award carrying a cash prize of `5 lakh. To ensure transparency and uphold literary standards, separate selection committees comprising eminent writers and award-winning authors will be constituted for each language, he added.
TN a space for intellectual exchange and sharing of knowledge: CM Stalin
Underlining that it remains uncertain whether the Sahitya Akademi Awards announcement would take place at all, Stalin termed the political interference in arts and literary awards as “dangerous”. Writers and representatives of literary organisations had urged the state government to respond constructively (to the cancellation), and the government also felt such a response was the need of the hour, he said.
Praising the Chennai International Book Fair, Stalin said the exchange of literary rights should not be viewed as business alone but as a cultural handshake between languages. “From Sangam Literature to modern writing, Tamil books should reach global audience,” he said.
Addressing delegates from over 100 foreign countries, Stalin said Tamil Nadu was not only a favourable destination for business investment, but also a space for intellectual exchange and sharing of knowledge. He also released 84 books, including translations, published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation, Directorate of Public Libraries, and Tamil Nadu Translation Grants Catalogue.
Further, a total of 1,830 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed during the three-day CIBF.
These included 1,274 MoUs to translate Tamil books into other languages, 260 MoUs to translate books from other languages into Tamil, and 297 MoUs between non-Tamil languages.
Officials said that under the Tamil Nadu government’s translation grants scheme, 47 grants were awarded in 2023, 105 in 2024 and 108 in 2025, facilitating the translation of over 260 books by 135 authors into 30 languages.
School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu, MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian, Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq and School Education Secretary B Chandra Mohan, among others, were present.