Itanagar, May 20: The Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society (APLS) has decided to confer the prestigious Luminous Lummer Dai Literary Award 2026 on Tony Koyu in recognition of his outstanding contribution to literature and language development in Arunachal Pradesh.
Tony Koyu is widely known as the inventor of Tani Lipi, the first indigenous script developed for the Tani tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Using the Tani script, he has authored novels, poems, short stories and articles in the Galo language, besides writing in Hindi and English.
He has also received several honours over the years, including the Bharat Jyoti Award, Sanskar Bharati Award and Penguin Publication Award, among others.
As the founding vice-president of the Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society, Koyu played a significant role in strengthening and developing the organisation during its formative years.
The Luminous Lummer Dai Literary Award — the only state-level literary award in Arunachal Pradesh — has been selected by the President of APLS, Padma Shri awardee Y D Thongchi.
The award will be presented to Koyu during the celebration of the 87th birth anniversary of noted litterateur Lummer Dai on June 1, 2026.
The award carries a specially designed memento created by renowned Assamese sculptor Biren Sinha, along with a citation, a packet of books, and a cash prize of Rs 50,000.