Five books have been shortlisted for the Gemcon Sahitya Puroshkar (Literary Award) 2015. The announcement was made by Gemcon Group in a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity Auditorium in the capital yesterday.
The five short-listed books are: “Kaler Kopol Tawle” by Jatin Sarkar, “Immigration” by Salma Bani, “Moyur Singhashon” by Shaheen Akhtar, “Onno Ek Golpokarer Golpo Niye Golpo” by Shahaduzzaman, and “Kachhey Durer Gaan” by Prosanto Mridha.
The Gemcon Group told reports at the press conference that the recipient of this year’s award, which includes a cash prize of Tk5 lakh will be selected subsequently from this shortlist by a panel of judges.
Prominent poet and writer, Asad Chowdhury, revealed the shortlisted books. He said, “The names of the five shortlisted authors are undoubtedly important writers of our country,”
Professor Biswajit Ghosh said: “The Gemcon Sahitya Puroshkar will work to encourage young, upcoming writers in Bangladesh.”
Speaking at the event, poet Shamim Reza, member secretary of the award committee, said, “This is the first time we are announcing the shortlist. The final selection will be done by a panel of senior writers from Bangladesh and West Bengal.”
“The main purpose of publishing the shortlisted books is to bring them into the spotlight, so that the writers can be included in discussion by people. The Man Booker prize authorities adopted the same policy.
The Gemcon Sahitya Puroshkar 2014 recipient was Hasan Azizul Haq. Ahmed Mostofa Kamal, Zakir Talukder, Selim Al Deen, Syed Shamsul Haq and Shahidul Zahir were past recipients of the Gemcon Sahitya Puroshkar.