The prominent Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia has been conferred for this year's Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the Kerala government's highest literary honour. The award, named after Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam language, carries a cash prize of Rs 5.00 lakh and a citation. The writer won the 28th Ezhuthachan Award this year.

Announcing the award, State Culture Minister AK Balan said that he was selected for the award for his contributions to Malayalam literature and thought for the last fifty years. A five-member jury, headed by Kerala Sahitya Akademi President Vyshakhan, chosen him for the award. The award will be presented to the writer at a function in the Secretariat, Kerala at a later date. Born in 1945 at Kottayam, Zacharia had worked as a journalist with various national media organisations, a state government release said.

‘Salam America’, ‘Oridath, ‘Aarkkariyam’, ‘Bhaskara patelarum ente jeevithavum’ are among his various literary works. Zacharia won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1979 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2004. Paul Zacharia's works include essays, short stories, travelogues and Children's books. Although he focused on Malayalam short stories for much of his writing career, he decided to write his first full-length novel 'A Secret History of Compassion' in English in 2019. Like many writers, Zacharia also has been a fierce critique of the ruling government's ideology.

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