DHAKA: Some 11 renowned littérateurs of the country were nominated for the Bangla Academy Literature Award 2014.

Director General of the academy Dr Shamsuzzaman Khan announced the names of 11 winners in nine categories at the Bangla Academy auditorium on Thursday afternoon.

The awardees are Helal Hafiz for poetry, Purobi Basu for fiction (Katha Sahitya), Mofidul Haque for essay, Zamil Chowdhury and Probhansu Tripura for research, Kaiser Haque for translation, Harun Habib for liberation war affairs literature, Mahfuzur Rahman for autobiography/travelogue/memoir, Shahidul Islam for science, technology and environment and Kaiser Chowdhury and Aslam Sani for children literature.

Announcing the names, Shamsuzzaman Khan said, “It is a matter of regret that there was no good dramatist for the year to select as winner.”

He also said: “Generally we announce the names during ‘Ekushey Boi Mela’ but this year the academy has decided to announce the names earlier so that readers can judge the works of those writers.”

At the same time, it will be more dignified if the writers take the prize from Prime Minister on the first day of the fair, he added.

Director of the academy Dr Shahida Khatun, Mohammad Abdul Hye, deputy director Murshid Anwar and secretary of the academy M Altaf Hossain were among others present at the press meet.

BDST: 1735 HRS, JAN 30, 2014