Actor Anupam Kher says he is happy that an award dedicated to him has been initiated by Pune International Literary Festival (PILF).

The actor added that he hopes the award will "give a boost to talented writers who might otherwise remain voices in the wilderness".

Anupam Kher Award for Best Debut English Novel has been introduced by Pune International Literary Festival (PILF). The award would be in the form of citation and cash prize of a lakh.

"Everyone has a dream.... Some meet with early success while others have to go to great lengths to realise theirs. My endeavour in initiating an award is to give a boost to talented writers who might otherwise remain voices in the wilderness," Anupam said in a statement.

The first edition of the Anupam Kher Award will be judging all the new English novels published in 2016. The team comprising of expert jury with R. Raj Rao, Ravi Subramanian and Salil Desai have shortlisted the entries based on originality, plot, narrative techniques, impact and various literary characteristics that a novel.

Amongst many entries received jury, Anupam and PILF Committee have jointly decided on top five nominees which includes "The Patient Patient" by Tushar Rishi, "Neon Noon", "Song of the Kaveri" by Kalyanaraman Durgadas, "A Thousand Times Over" by Sudhanshu Bisen (Fingerprint) and "Dangle" by Sutapa Basu.

Anupam will present the award in a session to be held at YASHADA, Training centre here on Friday.