The award, given away every year to a prominent personality in the field of Marathi literature, carries a cash prize of Rs 25,000 and trophy, academy chairman Nanik Rupani said in a statement here today.
The Marathi literary award is being renamed as 'Balasaheb Thackeray Marathi Literary Award' in the memory of the departed Shiv Sena chief, who had contributed a lot to the spread of Marathi language and culture, Rupani said.
The Priyadarshni Academy also presents literary awards in other languages also, such as Sindhi and Hindi.
The literary awards were instituted by the Academy in 1984.
