Leading Odia novelist and academician Pratibha Ray has been selected for Jnanpith Award for the year 2011. A Bharatiya Jnanpith release said that the decision to give the prestigious award to 69-year old Ray was taken at a meeting chaired by writer and Jnanpith award winner Sitakant Mahapatra. She is the first Odia woman and fourth Odia writer to get the coveted award.

Ms. Ray has 20 novels, 24 short stories, 10 travelogues, two poetry collections and a number of essays to her credit. The award carries a cash prize of 7 lakh rupees, a citation and a public felicitation.