Thakazhi Literary Award is an annual Malayalam literary award that recognises a writer's overall contribution to Malayalam literature.
The Thakazhi Memorial Committee, which works under the Alappuzha Culture Department, established the prize in 2014 to honour Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, the Storyteller of Kuttanad (കുട്ടനാടിന്റെ കഥാകാരൻ).
The award carries a monetary award of ₹50000 and a citation.
The First Recipient of this award was Prof. G. Balachandran in 2014 for his work Thakazhiyude Sargapadangal. All subsequent prizes except the first award are granted for overall contributions to Malayalam literature.
The Last Recipient of Thakazhi Literary Award in 2023 is M.K. Sanu.
The prize is normally given out during the Literary Festival held on April 17th to mark Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai's birthday.
List of Thakazhi Literary Award Recipients:
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Prof. G. Balachandran |
| 2015 | M.T. Vasudevan Nair |
| 2016 | C. Radhakrishnan |
| 2018 | T. Padmanabhan |
| 2019 | Sreekumaran Thampi |
| 2020 | Perumpadavam Sreedharan |
| 2021 | M. Leelavathi |
| 2022 | M. Mukundan |
| 2023 | M.K. Sanu |
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
- The first person to win Jnanpith, Ezhutachchan award and Vallathol award – Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai.
- Epithets – Kerala Mopassang, Kuttanadinte Kathakaran, Kuttanadinte Ithihasakaran.
- The first novel of Thakazhi – Thyaagathinu Prathifalam (ത്യാഗത്തിനു പ്രതിഫലം, 1934).
- Author of the Malayalam Novel "Chemmeen" – Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (1956).
- The backdrop of the Novel "Chemmeen" was set on – Purakkad beach, Alappuzha.
- The film that won the President's Golden Lotus for the first time in South India – Chemmeen (Ramu Kariat, 1965).
- The backdrop for the film "Chemmeen" was shot on – Nattika Beach, Thrissur.
- Autobiographies – Ormayude Theerangalil, Ente Balyakalakatha, Ente Vakeel Jeevitham.
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