Bangla Academy, country's autonomous government-funded institution known for not only organizing the annual Amar Ekushey Book Fair but also to promote, develop and foster the Bengali language, literature and culture, is also known for conferring the annual Bangla Academy Literary Awards since 1960, in recognition of creative genius in advancement and overall contribution in the field of Bengali language and literature. Following the tradition, ten litterateurs have been announced for the prestigious Bangla Academy Literary Award 2020, acknowledging their pathbreaking contribution to different branches of Bengali literature.

Bangla Academy director general Habibullah Siraji announced the names of the awardees at a press conference held on Monday at Munier Chowdhury Seminar Room of the academy.

This year, the academy will honour poet and academician Muhammad Samad for poetry, writer Imtiar Shamim for fiction, Begum Akhter Kamal for essay and research, Sureshranjon Basak for translation, Rabiul Alam for drama, children's rhymer Anjir Liton for juvenile literature, Sahida Begum for Liberation War-based literature, Aparesh Bandyopadhyay for science fiction, Muhammad Habibullah Pathan for folklore and legendary thespian Ferdousi Majumder for autobiography.

The recipients will receive their awards at the inaugural ceremony of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair, which is scheduled to be held on March 18 this year due to the changed schedule for the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19, shifting from its traditional February slot. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually confer the awards at the inauguration event.