CHENNAI: Deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi presented the Muthamizharignar Kalaignar M Karunanidhi Porkizhi awards and the Booksellers’ and Publishers’ Association of South India (BAPASI) awards at the Chennai Book Fair at YMCA ground in Nandanam, on Friday.

Tamil scholars and artistes who won M Karunanidhi Golden Award winners received a purse of Rs 1 lakh each. Arunan bagged the award for prose/research, Nellai Jayantha for poetry, Suresh Kumar Indrajith for novel, N Sriram for short stories, Kalai Rani for drama, and Nirmalya for translation. Semmal K Kanathi’s Karpagam bookstore bagged the BAPASI award for the best publisher, while the best librarian award went to R Kothandaraman and publisher Semmal S Meiyappan won the award for best book seller.

Children’s Poet Azhava Valliyappa Award was given to the best children’s writer Jyothi Sundaresan, the Bari Chellappanar Award went to Tamil scholar Saba Arunachalam, while writer Parveen Sultana received the first woman publisher Amsaveni Periyannan Award.