CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: On the occasion of World Hindi Day, senior poet and short story writer Santosh Chaube, National President of Vanmali Srijan Peeth—an institution dedicated to the creative legacy and memory of the eminent storyteller, educationist, and thinker Jagannath Prasad Chaube “Vanmali”—announced the prestigious National Vanmali Katha Awards. He informed that this year, writers will be honored with the Vanmali Katha Awards in eight different categories.
Under the banner of “Vishva Rang”, a three-day Vanmali Katha Award Ceremony will be organized jointly by Vanmali Srijan Peeth, Rabindranath Tagore University, Scope Global Skills University, and ISECT Publication on 24, 25, and 26 February 2026 at Ravindra Bhavan, Bhopal, and Rabindranath Tagore University, Bhopal. All selected writers will be honored during this ceremony. On this occasion, Jnanpith Award–winning senior author Pratibha Rai will be present as the Chief Guest.
Awardees:
Vanmali Katha Shikhar Award will be conferred upon renowned writer Mridula Garg.
Vanmali National Katha Award will be presented to senior storyteller Alka Sarawagi.
Both awardees will be honored with a shawl, Shriphal (coconut), a citation, and a cash award of ₹1 lakh each.
Vanmali Katha Madhya Pradesh Award: Senior storyteller Urmila Shirish (Bhopal)
Vanmali Young Katha Award: Young storyteller Kunal Singh
Vanmali Katha Criticism Award: Mahesh Darpan
Vanmali Non-Fiction Award: Yatindra Mishra (Ayodhya)
Notably, this year Vanmali Srijan Peeth has also prominently included story translation and digital literature contributions in its awards series.
The first Vanmali Katha Translation Award will be given to Jitendra Bhatia.
The first Vanmali Digital Literature Contribution Award will be presented to Anjum Sharma.
All these awardees will be honored with a shawl, Shriphal, a citation, and a cash prize of ₹51,000 each.
Providing further information, Santosh Chaube stated that the Vanmali Katha Awards, presented biennially by Vanmali Srijan Peeth under Vishva Rang, were instituted with the objective of re-establishing and appropriately honoring storytelling literature that seeks democratic and human values in the contemporary literary landscape. So far, the award has honored eminent Indian writers such as Mamta Kalia, Chitra Mudgal, Shashank, Swayam Prakash, Akhilesh, Asghar Wajahat, Uday Prakash, Maitreyi Pushpa, Prabhu Joshi, Priyamvada, Geetanjali Shree, Manoj Rupda, and others.
Release of the Latest Issue of ‘Vanmali Katha’ Magazine
Launched with the aim of giving due space to the creative voices of the new century, the inclusive, value-driven literary magazine ‘Vanmali Katha’ has made a strong creative presence in the literary world since its inaugural issue. The February issue of the magazine will also be released during the award ceremony.
Literary Discussions: Special Sessions
On the occasion of the three-day Vanmali Katha Award Ceremony, special discussion sessions will be organized along with readings by the honored writers on important topics such as:
Narrative Sensibilities of the Young Generation and Changing Language
Women’s Voices and Gender Perspectives in Contemporary Short Stories
Stories in the Digital Age—Blogs, Instagram Stories, Micro Fiction, and Podcasts
Changing Readers and the New Relevance of the Short Story
Theatre and Musical Performances
As part of the Vanmali Katha Awards, on 25 February at 7:00 PM, a theatrical adaptation of stories by Santosh Chaube will be staged at Ravindra Bhavan, Bhopal, directed by senior theatre director Sanjay Mehta. Students of Tagore Theatre School will also present musical and theatrical performances during the ceremony.
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