Bhubaneswar, Sept. 8: Veteran Odia novelist Bibhuti Patnaik has expressed unhappiness over the present state of novel writing in the language.

"Novels are being completely ignored by the young coterie of writers. We have produced a number of classics but the legacy that Odisha had is gradually getting degraded," said the 79-year-old writer who has been selected for the Atibadi Jagannath Das Puraskar for 2016.

Odisha Sahitya Akademi will confer the state government's highest literary award on the eminent Odia litterateur, it was announced today.

Patnaik has written more than 50 novels. Many have described his works as the trendsetter of socialist realism in Odia novels.

In 1985, he had received the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Aswamedhara Ghoda. His other popular novels are Sesha Basanta, Abhimana, Trutiya Purusha, Badhu Nirupama, Prathama Sakala and Sesha Ratira Surya.

Patnaik is now working on his autobiography. The book is scheduled for a Dussehra release.