Madampu Kunjukuttan
Author Award: Sahitya Akademi Award
Madampu Kunjukuttan
Madampu Kunjukuttan (1941–2021) was born in Thrissur in 1941. He served as a Sanskrit teacher and temple priest, and was a noted novelist, screenplay writer, and actor. His novel Mahaprasthanam (1983) earned him the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, while his screenplay for the film Karunam received the National Film Award for Best Screenplay. He was also well known as the host of the television show E4 Elephant. Over his career, he authored more than thirty books across various genres. He passed away on May 11, 2021.
G. R. INDUGOPAN
G. R. Indugopan was born on April 19, 1974, in Valathungal, Eravipuram, Kollam. He was a journalist for many years and is a noted biographer. He has authored over thirty books across various branches of prose. Indugopan has received several prestigious awards including the State Television Award for Story, the Kerala Sahitya Akademi’s Geetha Hiranyan Award, the State Institute of Children’s Literature Award, the Padmarajan Award, the V. P. Sivakumar Keli Award, the Edasseri Award, and the Kumkumam Novel and Story Awards. Also has won the Ashan Prize and the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Awards for both fiction and novels. Along with the Nooranad Haneef Memorial Award.
He wrote and directed the film Ottakkayyan (The One-Armed Man), which won two Kerala State Awards in 2007, as well as the Jessy Foundation Award for Best Debut Director. He wrote the screenplay for Chithariyavar and the dialogues for Up & Down. Several of his short stories have been adapted into films, including Chennaya (Wolf), Amminippilla Vettukesu (A Southern Fight Case), and Shankhumukhi (Kaapa). His novel Kaaligandhaki was adapted into a television serial that went on to win seven State Television Awards. His work Thaskaran Maniyanpilla received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award for its Tamil version.