The awards, which comprise a casket containing an inscribed copper plaque and a cheque for Rs 25,000, will be presented to the authors at a special function to be held in the Capital on February 23 next year.

The selection of books was approved by the executive board of the Sahitya Akademi at a meeting held under the chairmanship of its president Ramakanta Rath.

``The books were selected on the basis of recommendations made by a jury of three members in the concerned languages,'' Sahitya Akademi Secretary K Satchidanandan said, adding that no award could be declared in Dogri this year. The awards relate to books published between January 1992 and December 1996, he said.

The books chosen for the Sahitya Akademi awards include Ashirbadar Rang, a novel in Assamese by Arun Sharma; Final Solutions and Plays written by Mahesh Dattani and Naye Ilake Mein, a book of poems by Arun Kamal.