R Rajasree wins 50th Vayalar Award for novel ‘Athreyakam’

Writer R Rajasree was named the recipient of the 50th Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Literary Award on Sunday for her novel ‘Athreyakam’.

The award, instituted by the Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Trust, carries a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, a bronze sculpture by renowned sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman and a citation. The Trust accepted the recommendation of the judging committee comprising O V Usha, Subhash Chandran and V Vijayakumar.

The winning work was selected from original Malayalam literary works first published during the five years preceding the award year. This year, 1,620 people were invited to nominate three eligible works. A total of 301 nominations were received, covering 258 works. The five highest-scoring works were then evaluated by 20 people, following which the top three were referred to the judging committee for the final selection.

The award will be presented at 5.30 pm on October 27 at Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram as part of the concluding events of the year-long ‘Vayalar Year 2025-26’ celebrations, marking the 50th death anniversary of Vayalar Ramavarma. Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan will present the award.

The two-day concluding programme will be held at Nishagandhi on October 26 and 27. Cultural Minister P C Vishnunath will present prizes to winners of various competitions organised as part of the Vayalar Year celebrations.