BRAC Bank and Daily Samakal have honoured eight writers for their contributions to Bangla literature, with Serajul Islam Choudhury and Selina Hossain receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The awards were presented at a ceremony at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Friday, 9 October, recognising literary achievements across two years in an initiative aimed at promoting Bangla literature and encouraging writers, BRAC Bank said in a press release.
For 2024, Abul Ahsan Choudhury won the award in the essay, autobiography, travel and translation category for his book Vidyasagar, Bankimchandra, Rabindranath and Musolman Samaj.
Anwara Syed Haq received the poetry and novel award for Shomoy Bohiya Gelo, while Nizam Biswas secured the Young Writer Award for Jolmakorer Noukabaich.
In the 2025 awards, Nasreen Jahan won in the essay, autobiography, travel and translation category for Paloker Chinhogulo, while Shaheen Akhtar received the poetry and novel award for Manchitra.
Mahbub Mayukh Rishad won the Young Writer Award for Cyanide Phool.
The organisers introduced the Lifetime Achievement Award to recognise veteran authors who have made significant contributions to Bangla literature.
Each lifetime achievement recipient received Tk 5 lakh, while winners in the essay, autobiography, travel and translation and poetry and novel categories received Tk 3 lakh each. The Young Writer Award carried Tk 2 lakh. All recipients also received crests and citations.
A total of 460 books were submitted for consideration in the three categories for 2024, compared with 510 for 2025.
The winning books were selected by a four-member jury comprising Begum Akhtar Kamal, Faizul Latif Chowdhury, Abid Anwar and Khalikuzzaman Elias.
Economist and former caretaker government adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud attended the ceremony as chief guest.
Times Media Limited Managing Director A K Azad, BRAC Bank Vice-Chairperson Faruq Mayeenuddin Ahmed, BRAC Bank Additional Managing Director and Head of SME Banking Syed Abdul Momen and Daily Samakal Editor Shahed Mohammad Ali were present, alongside prominent literary figures and other guests.
Faruq Mayeenuddin Ahmed said the literary award had emerged as a distinctive initiative, encouraging writers and readers to engage more deeply with literature.
He said growing recognition had also increased the organisers’ responsibility to support literary talent, intellectual development and creativity across Bangladesh.
Syed Abdul Momen said the award had generated considerable enthusiasm in the country’s literary community since its inception, providing a platform for established and emerging writers.
He said the initiative encouraged creative talent, particularly younger writers, while giving readers access to quality literary works. He reaffirmed BRAC Bank’s commitment to supporting literary excellence.
Shahed Mohammad Ali said Samakal had consistently promoted local culture and literary practices, recognising literature and culture as integral to quality journalism.
He said the newspaper would continue promoting cultural values as part of its journalistic mission.
A K Azad described the awards as an expression of social responsibility extending beyond a cultural event.
He said the organisers were proud to support the initiative and expressed confidence that continued cooperation would help expand its scale and impact.
Established in 2001, BRAC Bank focuses particularly on small and medium enterprise (SME) financing while also serving corporate and retail customers.
Listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange under the trading symbol BRACBANK, the bank operates 312 branches and sub-branches, 330 ATMs, 446 SME unit offices and 1,119 agent banking outlets, according to its corporate profile.
It employs more than 10,000 people and serves over two million customers. The bank describes itself as Bangladesh’s largest collateral-free SME financier after 25 years of operations and says it has maintained strong financial performance while emphasising governance, transparency and regulatory compliance.
