Muttathu Varkey Award

むったとぅ・ゔぁーきーしょう

An Indian literary award honoring outstanding contributions to Malayalam literature, established in 1992 in memory of novelist Muttathu Varkey. Recipients received ₹50,000, a citation, and a statuette. The last award was given in 2019.

Literary awardNovelPoetryScriptAchievement commendation

Established: 1992
Organizer: Muttattu Varkey Foundation
Category: Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Selection Method: Recommendation
Target: Professional
Frequency: 1 per year
Status: Active

Description

The Muttathu Varkey Award was established in 1992 by the Muttattu Varkey Foundation to honor the writer Muttathu Varkey, primarily targeting cumulative contributions to Malayalam literature (especially novelists' achievements). Winners are usually announced on April 28 each year and presented on May 28. As of 2012, the prize includes ₹50,000 cash, a citation, and a statuette. In some years, recognition has been given for specific genres such as poetry or scripts, or specific works.

Prize

Main Prize: ₹50,000 prize money, citation, statuette
Cash Prize: 50,000 INR

citation
statuette
Recognition at presentation ceremony

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Selection (final)	Muttattu Varkey Foundation selection committee (committee composition not publicly disclosed)	—	Winners are usually announced every year on April 28, with the presentation ceremony held on May 28.

Selection (final)

Judges Muttattu Varkey Foundation selection committee (committee composition not publicly disclosed)

Announcement Winners are usually announced every year on April 28, with the presentation ceremony held on May 28.

Criteria

Emphasis on the writer's long-term achievements and overall contributions to Malayalam literature
In principle, evaluates the body of work rather than a specific single piece
In some years, contributions to specific genres like poetry or scripts, or specific works, may be evaluated

Application Tips

Dos

First confirm if the foundation is accepting public applications (in many cases, it is foundation selection with no public call)
Organize your representative works and achievement chronology to clearly demonstrate the influence of your body of work
Compile and present award history, major publication outlets, external evaluations such as translations and film adaptations

Don''ts

Do not overemphasize a single work while ignoring overall achievements
Do not include inaccurate career details or exaggerations
Do not submit inaccurate application documents for non-open-call awards

From Judges

Please keep in mind that we principally evaluate the writer's cumulative literary contributions
Along with work quality, social and cultural impact is also a judging criterion
Cross-genre achievements and long-term consistency tend to be highly evaluated