Prajna Prabartika Dash to Receive 18th Timepass Booker Award : Four to Get Bestseller Awards

Balasore, Dec 21 (Krushna Kumar Mohanty): The prestigious Odisha-based publishing house Timepass has announced that the 18th Timepass Booker Award, instituted to encourage young fiction writers, will be conferred this year on young writer Dr Prajna Prabartika Dash for her short story manuscript 'Kehijane'. The award, presented annually for the past 18 years, is open to Odia fiction writers below the age of 50. The award-winning manuscript will be published by Timepass.
Along with this, the Timepass Bestseller Award, given to the most reader-loved books of the year, will go to four authors in different categories. In the short story category, 'Takia' by Sanjay Panda has been selected; in poetry, 'Mati Khoje Pakshi' by Sumit Panda; in the novel category, 'Duifarda Akasha' by Trinath Singh; and in the Prathama category, 'Rutute Ravensara' by Srisikta Shubhadarshini Nayak. For his consistent efforts in promoting Odia books through regular reading and active engagement on social media, Dr Subrata Kumar Senapati will be honoured with this year’s Timepass Bahi Bandhu Samman.

The awards will be presented during the sixth edition of Utsahitya, a literary festival organised by Timepass on December 27 and 28. During the festival, twelve writers will receive the Prathama Award, thirty young talents will be honoured with the Udayarag Samman, and one hundred mini-poems will be recognised with the 'Safety Pin' Poetry Award.

According to Timepass Director Saroj Bal, the two-day festival will feature panel discussions on various literary themes, a poetry catwalk, a blend of song and music, film screenings, author interactions, photo-poetry collaborations, book launches, interviews, and interactive Q&A sessions, as stated in a press release.