Thiruvananthapuram: Renowned poet and literary critic K. G. Sankara Pillai has been selected for the 2025 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary honour instituted by the Government of Kerala.

The announcement was made by Culture Minister Saji Cherian on Saturday.

The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, awarded by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam language.

It carries a cash prize of ₹5 lakh and a citation.

A recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (1998) and the Sahitya Akademi Award (2002), his works have made a lasting impact on Malayalam poetry. His writings have been translated into several Indian languages, as well as Chinese, French, German, English, and Sinhala, greatly expanding his global readership.

Apart from being a poet, Sankara Pillai is a noted academic and translator. He began his teaching career in 1971 and retired in 2002 as the Principal of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam.