Book News-22: "Sahitya Akademi awards for 21 Literateurs"

Seven Novelists, six poets, five short story writers and three critics have been chosen for the National Sahitya Akademi awards for this year. The coveted award carries a cash prize of Rs.50,000/- and an engraved copper plaque, will be given away on February 17, 2009.

The awardees are: K.A.Appan (a well-known critic for his collection of essays in Malayalam), Govind Mishra (for his Hindi novel, 'Kohre Mein Kaid Rang'), Rita Choudhury (Assamese novelist), Vidya Sagar Narzary (Bodo), Srinivas B.Vaidya (Kannada), Ashok Kamat (Konkani), Shyam Manohar (Marathi), Mitetr Sain Meet (Punjabi), Sarat Kumar Mukhopadhyay (Bengali), Champa Sharma (Dogri), A.O.Memchoubi (Manipuri), Pramod Kumar Mohanty (Oriya), Om Prakash Pande(Sanskrit), Jayant Parmer(Urdu), Suman Shah(Gujarati), Shri 'Kirat' (Nepali), Dinesh Panchal(Rajasthani), Badal Hemba(Santhali), Melaanmai Ponnusamy (Tamil), Nabi Aatash(Kashmiri), Hiro Shewkani(Sindhi).

Awards for Telugu and Maithili to be announced.

Source: The Hindu, Madurai (Date not available).

Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

Book News-21: "Cellphone Novels"

Cellphone Novels have become very popular in Japan. Most of the best-selling novels in Japan can be downloaded in mobile phones and a lot of Japanese are actually doing it. It seems to have become a favourite pastime of the Japanese. Further, the fever is catching up in the USA also. So another new use for the cellphone has been found. At this rate, the days are not far off when every individual in the world will be having a mobile in his pocket. There are many sites about cellphone novels now. I have given some links below, besides a link to the Wikipedia article on Cellphone Novels.

Wikipedia article on "Mobile Phone Novel":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_novel

"Novels on your phone" from futureofthebook.org:
http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/2005/03/novels_on_your_phone.html

"Cell phones put to novel use" from Wired.com:
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2005/03/66950

New York Times article on cell phone novels from New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/world/asia/20japan.html

Blog about U.S. mobile phone novel site:
http://www.textnovelblog.com/

U.S. mobile phone novel website:
http://www.textnovel.com/

iPhone & mobile novel website:
http://www.quillpill.com/

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Futureof theBook.org, Nytimes.com, TextNovelBlog.com and Quillpill.com.