Eleven win Bangla Academy award

The "Bangla Academy Sahitya Award 2013" under nine categories was announced yesterday ahead of the month-long Ekushey book fair beginning Saturday.
Dr Shamsuzzaman Khan, director general of Bangla Academy, declared the names of the winners at a press conference at the state-run body which works for promoting Bangla language.
Helal Hafiz won the award in the category of poetry while Purabi Basu in literature (Katha Sahitya), Mofidul Haq in essay, Jamil Chowdhury and Probhangshu Tripura in research, Kaiser Haq in translation, Harun Habib in literature on liberation war affairs, Mahfuzur Rahman in autobiography/memoir/ travel story, Shahidul Islam in science, technology and environment and Kaiser Chowdhury and Aslam Sunny in juvenile literature.
The academy, however, could not consider anyone in the drama category.
Each of the winners will receive a cash of Tk 1 lakh, a certificate and a crest from the prime minister at the launching ceremony of the largest book fair, said Shamsuzzaman Khan. He added that this is the first time an indigenous person, Provangshu Tripura, won the Bangla award.
Usually, the academy announces the award on February 18. But this year names of the award winners have been announced before the start of the book fair.