Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards for the year 2019 was announced on Monday. The fellowships have been awarded to writers P Valsala and N V P Unnithiri. The fellowships carry a cash award of Rs 50,000, a two sovereign gold locket, a citation and a certificate.

'Rathri Pandrandarayk oru Tharattu' (A lullaby at 12.30 in the night), written by P Raman, won the award for the best poetry. 'Ramachi' by Vinoy Thomas has bagged the award for the best short story. Author S Hareesh's 'Meesha' (Moustache) has been adjudged the best novel. The awards carry a prize money of Rs 25,000, a citation and a certificate.

Dalit Bandh N K Jose, U Kalanathan, CP Aboobackar, Rose Mary, Palakkeezhu Narayanan and P Appukuttan were given the award for overall contribution. The award carries a purse of Rs 30,000. Noted actress Sajitha Madathil bagged the Akademi award for her contribution in the drama 'Arangile Matsyagandhikal'.

Jisha Abhinaya (drama), K M Anil (literary criticism), G Madhusoodanan (science fiction), MGS Narayanan (biography), Arun Ezhuthachan (travelogue), K Aravindakshan (translation), K R Viswanathan (children's literature) and Sathyan Anthikad (humour writing) won the awards in other categories.

Endowment awards were given to Prof P Madhavan, Baby Jose Kattikkad, Sandeepananda Giri, D Anil Kumar, Amal, C S Meenakshi and E M Suja.

(With inputs from PTI)