Prime Minister Tarique Rahman honored nine distinguished individuals today with the Bangla Academy Literary Award 2025 in recognition of their exceptional contributions to Bangla literature. The recipients for this year include Mohan Roy for poetry, Nasima Anis for fiction, Syed Azizul Haque for essays and prose, Hasan Hafiz for children’s literature, Ali Ahmad for translation, Mustafa Majid and Israil Khan for research, Farseem Mannan Mohammedy for science, and Moidul Hasan for works related to the Liberation War.
The awards were bestowed by the Prime Minister during the opening ceremony of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 held at the Bangla Academy premises. The event, organized by Bangla Academy, commenced at 2pm with the rendition of the national anthem and a reading from religious texts, followed by a moment of silence to honor the martyrs of the Language Movement, the Liberation War, and the July mass uprising.
Professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, Chairman of Bangla Academy, chaired the inaugural session, with addresses from Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury, State Minister Ali Newaz Mahmud Khaiyam, Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Mofidur Rahman, and Bangla Academy Director General Prof Mohammad Azam, among others.
The Prime Minister’s wife, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, and his daughter, Barrister Zaima Rahman, graced the occasion alongside cabinet members, parliamentarians, prominent citizens, writers, publishers, and senior civil and military officials.
Established in 1960, the Bangla Academy Literary Award is an annual recognition bestowed upon individuals for their remarkable contributions to Bangla literature across various genres. The awardees for this year were selected based on recommendations from the Bangla Academy Literary Award 2025 Proposal Committee and subsequently approved by the Bangla Academy Literary Award Committee.
The names of the nine winners were unveiled by Prof Mohammad Azam through a media statement on Monday. The Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026, themed ‘Multidimensional Bangladesh,’ will run until March 15, reflecting a significant cultural event in Bangladesh that commemorates the Language Movement and the broader essence of Amar Ekushey.