The Eighth Dhaka Literary Festival opened on Thursday (Nov 8) amidst much excitement. Every year the popular three-day festival brings together hundreds of local and international literary figures, performers and intellectuals representing countries all over the globe.
The main attraction of the second day today (Nov 9) is the announcement of the Gemcon Literary Award-2018.
This year Imdadul Haq Milon’s “Noy Mash,” Shahaduzzaman’s “Akjon Komlalebu,” Mohibul Aziz’s “Tapan Sheel O Tar Bibaho Prokolpo,” Proshanto Mridha’s “Dugdugir Ashor,” and Robiul Islam’s “Tothagoto Kothay Thaken” have been nominated for the prestigious award.
The award, also known as Gemcon Sahitya Puroshkar 2018 is one of Bangladesh's biggest literary awards for creative works in Bengali and is given to encourage and recognise creative writers working in the Bengali language.
Last year, Bengali poet and essayist Mohammad Rafique was the recipient of the award.