Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) has chosen novelist S.L. Bhyrappa for the prestigious Nrupatunga Award for 2017.

The award is instituted by the BMTC after the 8th century Kannada king-poet Nrupatunga, who wrote Kavirajamarga, the earliest available work on rhetoric, poetics, and grammar in Kannada.

A jury headed by KSP president Manu Baligar selected Prof. Bhyrappa for the award, which carries a purse of ₹7 lakh and a citation.

Prof. Bhyrappa has been the best selling novelist in Kannada for over five decades and his works have been translated in various Indian languages. His novels Gruhabhanga and Daatu have been translated into 14 major languages of India.

He is the recipient of the Padmashri, Sahitya Akademi fellowship, Saraswathi Samman, Sahitya Akademi, Nadoja, and Pampa awards. He chaired Kannada Sahitya Sammelana held at Kanakapura in 1990. Besides Bhitti, his autobiography, he has written five works on criticism and 26 novels in the past six decades.

Mayura Varma award

Ramalingeshwara, C. Nandini and Shanti K. Appanna have been chosen for the Mayura Varma Literary Award, which carries a purse of ₹25,000 and citation said, V.C. Channe Gowda, honorary secretary, KSP.