Syed Manzoorul, Jotin Sarkar, Pias Majid win Brac Bank-Samakal Literature Award
For their outstanding contributions, noted academician and author Prof Syed Manzoorul Islam, essayist Prof Jatin Sarkar and young author Pias Majid have won the 'Brac Bank-Samakal Literature Award-2017'.
They received the honours at a gala event at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital last evening.
Bangla daily Samakal and Brac Bank have been conferring the award since 2011. This year the prize was given in three categories.
Prof Manzoorul won the award for his fiction “71 Ebong Onyanyo” in the category “poetry and fiction”. The book was published by Onno Prokash.
Prof Jatin received the award in the category “essay, biography, travelogue and translation” for his essay “Muktobuddhir Charai Utrai”, published by Kotha Prokash.
Pias received the “Humayun Ahmed Literature Prize” – for promising young authors – for his fiction “Monishar Mukhrekha”, published by Mawla Brothers.
As part of the award, Prof Manzoorul and Prof Jatin received crests and Tk 2,00,000 each while Pias received a crest and Tk 1,00,000.
This year, 467 books were submitted while a four-member jury chose the winners from a shortlist of 18 books, six in each category, said Mahbub Aziz, feature editor of Samakal.
Attending the event as chief guest, National Professor Anisuzzaman said although the literature award is comparatively recent, it has already become a prestigious one in the country.
Samakal Acting Editor Mustafiz Shafi said alongside existing categories they have a plan to launch a “lifetime achievement award” named after the newspaper's founding editor Golam Sarwar, who died in August this year.
Brac Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Selim RF Hussain and Samakal Publisher AK Azad were also present.
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