Sahitya Akademi Award

The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 24 languages of the 8th Schedule to the Indian constitution as well as in English and Rajasthani language. Established in 1954, the award comprises a plaque and a cash prize of ₹ 100,000. The award's purpose is to recognise and promote excellence in Indian writing and acknowledge new trends. The annual process of selecting awardees runs for the preceding 12 months. The plaque awarded by the Sahitya Akademi was designed by the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Prior to this, the plaque occasionally was made of marble, but this practice was discontinued because of its excessive weight.

From the Wikipedia article “Sahitya Akademi Award”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Check the official rules of the Sahitya Akademi Award for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.