O.V. Vijayan Memorial

Latest Updates

News & Announcements

Stay updated with the latest happenings at the memorial.

20 March 2026

O.V. Vijayan Smrithi Lecture Series 2026 Programme Announced

The O.V. Vijayan Samskarika Samithy has announced the schedule for the 2026 Smrithi Lecture Series. The series will feature eight lectures between May and December, each exploring a different dimension of Vijayan's work. Confirmed speakers include Dr. K. Satchidanandan ('Vijayan's Poetry of Prose'), Prof. Sara Oppermann from Heidelberg University ('Khasak in German Translation'), and novelist C.S. Venkiteswaran ('Vijayan and the Politics of Form'). The lectures will be held at the memorial complex in Thasrak and simultaneously livestreamed.

15 March 2026

'The Legends of Khasak' Adapted for Stage, Kerala Tour Announced

A major new stage adaptation of Khasakkinte Itihasam, directed by theatre veteran Kavalam Pushpadas, will tour six cities in Kerala between April and June 2026. The production, titled 'Thasrakkileykku', reimagines the novel's central characters through a series of interconnected monologues and dance-theatre sequences. The Thasrak Memorial Complex and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademy have jointly produced the show. Tickets are available through the Akademy website and at the memorial's bookshop.

1 March 2026

Thasrak Memorial Complex Completes Restoration of Vijayan's Personal Library

The restoration and cataloguing of O.V. Vijayan's personal library at the Thasrak Memorial Complex has been completed. The collection of over 2,400 volumes, spanning Malayalam, English, Sanskrit, Hindi, and German, has been digitally catalogued and is now accessible to researchers through the memorial's reference section. The library includes Vijayan's annotated copies of Dostoevsky, Kafka, and the Upanishads, with his handwritten marginal notes offering a rare window into the author's intellectual life. Researchers may schedule access through the memorial office.

28 February 2026

O.V. Vijayan Memorial Awards 2025, Winners Announced

The O.V. Vijayan Samskarika Samithy has announced the recipients of the O.V. Vijayan Memorial Literary Awards for 2025. The award for Best Novel was conferred on Benyamin for his novel 'Mullappoo Niramulla Pakalukal'. The award for Best Short Story Collection went to Sheela Tomy for 'Njangalude Kathakal'. The Young Writer Award was presented to Arathy Ramachandran, 24, for her debut collection. The awards ceremony will be held at the O.V. Vijayan Memorial, Thasrak, on March 30, coinciding with the 27th death anniversary of the author.

10 February 2026

New Critical Edition of Khasakkinte Itihasam Released by DC Books

DC Books has released a new annotated critical edition of O.V. Vijayan's seminal novel Khasakkinte Itihasam, marking over five decades since its original publication in 1969. The edition features scholarly annotations by Prof. M. Leelavathi, an extensive foreword by M.T. Vasudevan Nair, and previously unpublished correspondence between Vijayan and his editor. The volume also includes reproductions of Vijayan's original cartoon illustrations that accompanied the serialised version in Mathrubhumi Weekly.

25 January 2026

International Conference on O.V. Vijayan's Legacy at Jawaharlal Nehru University

Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Comparative Literature hosted a two-day international conference titled 'Khasak and Beyond: The Literary World of O.V. Vijayan' in January 2026. Scholars from India, Germany, France, and the United States presented papers examining Vijayan's influence on Indian modernism, the philosophical underpinnings of Khasakkinte Itihasam, and the challenges of translating his distinctive Malayalam prose into European languages. Prof. Meena T. Pillai delivered the keynote address, drawing connections between Vijayan's narrative technique and the magical realist tradition.