Selina Hossain

Selina Hossain is a Bangladeshi novelist. Her major works include Hangor Nodi Grenade and Poka Makorer Ghor Boshoti. She earned all major national awards – Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1980, Ekushey Padak in 2009 and Independence Day Award in 2018. Her novels and short stories have been translated into English, Russian, French, Japanese, Korean, Finnish and Malay. She served as the chairperson of Bangladesh Shishu Academy from 2014 until 2018. Selina served as the president of the Bangla Academy from 3 February 2022 until her resignation on 17 October 2024.

Early life and education

Hossain was born to A. K. Mosharrof Hossain and Mariamennesa Bakul. She earned MA degree in Bengali language and literature from Rajshahi University in 1968.

In 1994–95, Hossain won a scholarship from the Ford Foundation for her novel, Sandhya Gayatri.
Hossain retired as the director of the Bangla Academy. She served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh and the representative of her government to the executive board of UNESCO. In 2014, she was appointed the Chairman of the Bangladesh Shishu Academy.
Hossain's novel Bhumi O Kusum was the first work in Bangla literature to address the enclave issue.