Nepalese literature ( ne, नेपाली साहित्य) is the literature of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. This is distinct from Nepali literature, which is the literature in only

Nepali language Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian s ...

(Khas kura). The major literary languages of Nepal are:

English literature

Nepalis writing in English first came to prominence with

Laxmi Prasad Devkota Laxmi Prasad Devkota ( ne, लक्ष्मीप्रसाद देवकोटा) (1909-1959) was a Nepali poet, playwright, and novelist. Honored with the title of Mahakabi ( ne, माहाकवि) in Nepali literature, he was kno ...

's own translations of his Nepali poems in the 1950s. Devkota is believed to be the first Nepali to begin writing creatively in English. Devkota also penned some essays in English which were published posthumously by his son, Dr. Padma Devkota in a book titled 'The Witch Doctor and Other Essays'. After Devkota came writers like Mani Dixit, Tek Bahadur Karki,

Abhi Subedi Abhi Subedi ( ne, अभि सुवेदी) is a Nepali poet, playwright, linguist, columnist, translator and critic, who writes in Nepali and English. Biography Abhi Subedi was born in Sabla village of Tehrathum district in eastern Nepal. ...

and Peter J Karthak who began writing in English from the 60s onwards. During the 70s and 80s, these pioneers were joined by writers like Kesar Lall, Greta Rana, Kesang Tseten, and DB Gurung. It was only in 2001 that Nepali writing in English received international attention with the publication of

Samrat Upadhyay Samrat Upadhyay ( ne, सम्राट उपाध्याय)(born 1964) is a Nepalese born American writer who writes in English. Upadhyay is a professor of creative writing and has previously served as the Director of the Creative Writing ...

Arresting God in Kathmandu ''Arresting God in Kathmandu'' is the debut book by Nepali-American author Samrat Upadhyay. Published in 2001, ''Arresting God in Kathmandu'' was awarded the Whiting Writers' Award for fiction. The book marks the first time a Nepali writer wri ...

. Published in the United States, the collection of short stories won the Whiting Award for Fiction. Since then, a number of prominent Nepali writers writing in English have emerged, most notably

Manjushree Thapa Manjushree Thapa (born 1968 in Kathmandu) is a Nepalese–born Canadian essayist, fiction writer, translator and editor. She is one of the first English writer of Nepali descent to be published internationally. '' Forget Kathmandu'' and '' The T ...

whose nonfiction book, ''Forget Kathmandu: An Elegy for Democracy'', was nominated for the 2006 Lettre Ulysses Award. Contemporary Nepalis writing in English include

Rabi Thapa Rabi Thapa ( ne, रवि थापा) is a Nepali writer and editor working in English. He is the Editor of La.Lit, the literary magazine from Nepal, and the author of Nothing to Declare (Penguin India, 2011) and Thamel, Dark Star of Kathmand ...

(Thamel - Dark Star of Kathmandu), Richa Bhattarai(Fifteen and Three Quarters), Prawin Adhikari,

Pranaya SJB Rana Pranaya SJB Rana is a writer, editor and journalist based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is currently editor of ''The Record'', a digital-native news publication focusing on long form reporting, essays, and explainers. Rana was previously features editor ...

(City of Dreams), Shiwani Neupane, Shradha Ghale ( The Wayward Daughter) and Niranjan Kunwar(

Between Queens and the Cities ''Between Queens and the Cities'' is a 2022 memoir by Niranjan Kunwar. It was published in 2020 by FinePrint Publication. It is the first English queer memoir to be published in Nepal. The book chronicles the life of the author as gay man between ...

Maithili literature

Nepali literature

Nepali literature consists of the literature written in the

. The Nepali language has been the national language of Nepal since 1958. The Nepali language has also been recognized as a "major Indian literary language" by the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

, India's National Academy of Letters.''Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature'' (Voices from Asia), edited and translated by Michael J. Hutt, University of California Press, 1991. p. 5.

Nepal Bhasa literature

The literature written in

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nep ...

is called Nepal Bhasa literature.

Sanskrit

Modern

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

literature in Nepal includes works by Nara Nath Acharya,

Vishnu Raj Atreya Vishnu Raj Atreya ( ne, विष्णुराज आत्रेय; 10 November 1944 – July 18, 2020) was a Nepali writer and poet, who wrote in Nepali language, Sanskrit language and Awadhi language. He used the title ''Latosaathi'' ( ne ...

, Shivraj Acharya Kaundinya among others.

References

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...