In the multilingual Pakistani society, the national language Urdu, being lingua franca, is the only language spoken, understood, and read in every corner of the country. Most of the literature in Pakistan is written in Urdu and hundreds of books are published in it every year. The Pakistan Academy of Letters gives three awards every year in Urdu. Since 2023, the number has been increased to four. Below is the list of recipients of this award:
Named after the Poet of the East Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, this award is given every year to the best collection of Urdu poetry. This award was launched in 1981. So far, the following poets have received this award:
| # | Book Title | Author | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nā tamām | Mohsin Ehsan | 1401 AH |
| 2 | Ikāī | Saleem Ahmed | 1402 AH |
| 3 | Mehr-i Do Nīm | Iftikhar Arif | 1403 AH |
| 4 | Fishār | Amjad Islam Amjad | 1403 AH |
| 5 | Khud Kalāmī | Parveen Shakir | 1404 AH |
| 6 | Haroon Kī Ᾱvāẓ | Himayat Ali Shayer | 1405 AH |
| 7 | Navā-’ē Shab | Partau Rohila | 1406 AH |
| 8 | Qalb-o-Naẑar Kē Silsilē | Qayyum Nazar | 1407 AH |
| 9 | Ᾱṡār | Mukhtar Siddiqui | 1408 AH |
| 10 | Mashriq | Saleem Ahmed | 1409 AH |
| 11 | Pas-i Andāẓ Mausam | Ahmad Faraz | 1410 AH |
| 12 | Ik Katẖā Anokhī | Dr. Wazir Agha | 1411 AH |
| 13 | Jālib Nāmah | Habib Jalib | 1412 AH |
| 14 | Just | Razi Akhtar Shauq | 1413 AH |
| 15 | Tūtā Huā Pal | Shahzad Ahmed | 1414 AH |
| 16 | Ḥarf-i Bāryāb | Iftikhar Arif | 1415 AH |
| 17 | Koī Aur Sitārah | Tauseef Tabassum | 1416 AH |
| 18 | Ᾱdẖā Din Aur Ᾱdẖī Rāt | Yasmeen Hameed | 1417 AH |
| 19 | Darāẓ Palkoṅ Kē Sā’ē Sā’ē | Khaled Ahmed | 1418 AH |
| 20 | Khāboṅ Sē Tarāshē Huē Din | Abbas Rizvi | 1998 |
| 21 | Ghazal Bahāna Karūṅ | Ahmad Faraz | 1999 |
| 22 | Sāhiloṅ Kī Havā | Amjad Islam Amjad | 2000 |
| 23 | Ᾱg ik Tārah | Syed Zamir Jaafri | 2001 |
| 24 | Dam-i Ṣubḥ | Zia Jalandhari | 2002 |
| 25 | Pānī Pe Bichā Takht | Muhammad Izhar-ul-Haqq | 2003 |
| 26 | Gumān | Jaun Elia | 2004 |
| 27 | Ᾱnē Vālā Kal | Shahzad Ahmed | 2005 |
| 28 | Mī Raqṣam | Anwar Shaoor | 2006 |
| 29 | Arẕ-o-Samā | Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi | 2007 |
| 30 | Samandar | Faisal Ajmi | 2008 |
| 31 | Maiṅ Naẑm Likẖtā Hūṅ | Aftab Iqbal Shamim | 2009 |
| 32 | Darvesh | Faisal Ajmi | 2010 |
| 33 | Saṯr-i Nau | Manzar Hussain Akhtar | 2011 |
| 34 | Nam Giriftah | Khaled Ahmed | 2012 |
| 35 | Sar-i Bāẓār Mi Raqṣam | Sabir Zafar | 2013 |
| 36 | Dhūp Kiran | Imdad Hussaini | 2014 |
| 37 | Maiṅ Nē Ism-i Muhammad Ko Likẖā Bohut | Salim Kausar | 2015 |
| 38 | Ab Tak | Zafar Iqbal | 2016 |
| 39 | Lāraib | Naseer Turabi | 2017 |
| 40 | Gul Chāndnī | Zehra Nigah | 2018 |
| 41 | Mohūm Kī Mehek | Abrar Ahmed | 2019 |
| 42 | Bārgāh | Qamar Shahzad | 2020 |
| 43 | Bāgh-i Gul-i Surkh | Iftikhar Arif | 2021 |
| 44 | Darguẓar | Qamar Raza Shahzad | 2022 |
Named after Maulvi Abdul Haqq, this award is given every year to the best book of research and criticism in Urdu. This award was introduced in 1981. Before the launch of the Saadat Hassan Manto Award in 2017, this award covered the entire Urdu prose including fiction. So far, the following books/authors have received this award:
| # | Book Title | Author | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ṭẖanḍā Mīṭẖā Pānī | Khadija Mastoor | 1401 AH |
| 2 | Duniyā Kā Qadīm Tarīn Adab | Ibn-e-Hanif | 1402 AH |
| 3 | Hind Yatrā | Mumtaz Mufti | 1403 AH |
| 4 | Gard-i Rāh | Dr. Akhtar Hussain Raipuri | 1404 AH |
| 5 | Urdu Adab Kī Teḥrīkēṅ | Dr. Anwar Sadid | 1405 AH |
| 6 | Samē Kā Bandẖan | Mumtaz Mufti | 1406 AH |
| 7 | Shahāb Nāma | Qudratullah Shahab | 1407 AH |
| 8 | Shehr Andar Shehr | Sadiq Hussain | 1408 AH |
| 9 | Urdu Naṡr Kē Irtiqā Mēṅ Uʻlamā Kā Hiṣṣa | Dr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri | 1409 AH |
| 10 | Ᾱb-i Gum | Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi | 1410 AH |
| 11 | Nāngā Parbat / Yātrā | Mustansar Hussain Tarar / Muhammad Khalid Akhtar | 1411 AH |
| 12 | Miṣr Kā Qadīm Adab | Ibn-e-Hanif | 1412 AH |
| 13 | Alakẖ Nagrī | Mumtaz Mufti | 1413 AH |
| 14 | Kuch Aur Nahīṅ | Bano Qudsia | 1414 AH |
| 15 | Ᾱgē Samandar Hai | Intizar Hussain | 1415 AH |
| 16 | Tanqīd Kī Ᾱẓādī | Muzaffar Ali Syed | 1416 AH |
| 17 | Ham Nafas | Masood Mufti | 1417 AH |
| 18 | Samar Sāmir | Aslam Sirajuddin | 1418 AH |
| 19 | Culture Kē Rūḥānī Aʻnāṣir | Dawood Rehbar | 1998 |
| 20 | Jadīdiyat Aur Mā Bʻad Jadīdiyat | Zameer Ali Badayouni | 1999 |
| 21 | Prāganda Ṯabʻa Log | Dawood Rehbar | 2000 |
| 22 | Purānī Meḥfilēṅ Yād Ᾱ Rahī Haiṅ | Abdullah Malik | 2001 |
| 23 | Shehrẓād Kē Nām | Intizar Hussain | 2002 |
| 24 | Nirbadā Aur Dūsrī Kahānīyaṅ | Asad Muhammad Khan | 2003 |
| 25 | Jadīd Sindhi Adab | Syed Mazhar Jameel | 2004 |
| 26 | Lāl Sabẓ Kabūtaroṅ Kī Chatrī | Dr. Aslam Farrukhi | 2005 |
| 27 | Tārīkh-i Adab-i Urdu (3rd) | Dr. Jameel Jalibi | 2006 |
| 28 | Khāk Kā Rutba | Hassan Manzar | 2007 |
| 29 | Urdu Novel Kē Hama Gīr Sarokār | Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan | 2008 |
| 30 | Saltanat | Mahmood Ahmed Qazi | 2009 |
| 31 | Kiā Ẓamānē Tẖē Kiā Log Tẖē | Afzal Tauseef | 2010 |
| 32 | Dūr Kī Ᾱvāẓ | Muhammad Mansha Yad | 2011 |
| 33 | Tanqīdī Theory Kē So Sāl | Dr. Wazir Agha | 2012 |
| 34 | Insān Ai Insān | Hassan Manzar | 2013 |
| 35 | Ẓamīṅ Rang / Pākistān Mēṅ Ghālib Shanāsī | Tahira Iqbal / Dr. Shakeel Patafi | 2014 |
| 36 | Ham Nafsān-i Khush Guẓrāṅ | Muhammad Hamza Farooqi | 2015 |
| 37 | Urdu Adab Kī Tashkīl-i Jadīd | Nasir Abbas Nayyar | 2016 |
| 38 | Jīnē Kī Pābandī | Khalida Hussain | 2017 |
| 39 | Nikāt | Dr. Tahsin Firaqi | 2018 |
| 40 | Mīr-i Kārvāṅ | Mian Muhammad Afzal | 2019 |
| 41 | Urdu Lughat (Tārīkhī Uṣūl Par): Taḥqīqī-o-Tanqīdī Muṯāliʻah | Dr. Bibi Ameena | 2020 |
| 42 | Yehī Ᾱakhir Ko Ṭẖehrā Fann Hamārā | Dr. Tauseef Tabassum | 2021 |
| 43 | Urdu Adab: Māholiyātī Tanāẓur | Dr. Aurangzeb Niazi | 2022 |
Named after the outstanding Urdu fiction-writer Saadat Hassan Manto, this award is given every year to the best book of Urdu creative prose. The award was launched in 2017. Earlier, the Bābā’ē Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haqq Award covered entire Urdu prose literature. So far, the following Urdu prose writers/books have received this award:
| # | Book Title | Author | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jẖijak | Hassan Manzar | 2018 |
| 2 | Girāṅ | Tahira Iqbal | 2019 |
| 3 | Siyāh Sonā (Afsānē) / Pārē Shumārē | Nilofer Iqbal / Shaheen Abbas | 2020 |
| 4 | Aʻjāib Khānah | Irfan Javed | 2021 |
| 5 | Merī Dẖartī Merē Log | Ahmed Saleem | 2022 |
Named after the renowned prose-stylist Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, this award will be presented every year to the best non-fiction creative prose book in Urdu. This award has been launched in 2023.
