WB: Nabaneeta, Shirshendu among nominated writers for 'Big Little Book Award' this year

Kolkata: Bengali writers Nabaneeta Dev Sen and Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay were among the shortlisted authors nominated for the 'Big Little Book Award' for children's literature in Bengali this year.

The 'Big Little Book Award' was instituted by 'Parag', an initiative of Tata Trusts.

In the second year of the award, the language in focus is Bengali. In 2016, the language in focus was Marathi.

The awards will be conferred on November 19.

Amarendra Chakravorty and Kartik Ghosh were the two other shortlisted writers, a statement by Parag said on Sunday.

Nabaneeta Dev Sen, recipient of the Sahitya Academy Award and the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award, has been writing for children as well as general readers since 1979.

Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay has also extensively written both for children and for adults with many of his books adapted for films by acclaimed directors. He is also the recipient of Sahitya Academy Award and Ananda Puroshkar.

Amarendra Chakravorty is a poet and writer whose 'Hiru Dakat' and 'Shada Ghora' are well known fictions for children.

Ghosh has been the recipient of the National Award for Childrens literature for his book Ekta Meye Eka, the statement said.

'Parag' is a decade old initiative to give recognition to authors and illustrators and create awareness on role and importance of children's literature.