Sarpay Beikman (Burmese: စာပေဗိမာန်; literally 'Palace of Literature') originated as the Burmese Translation Society. Its first President was Prime Minister U Nu, who started a Burmese translation job at Judson College (now University of Yangon). The purpose was to translate world culture, literature, education for the Burmese public. In 1963 the society was absorbed into the Ministry of Information's Printing and Publishing Enterprise as the Sarpay Beikman Literature House, and the mandate was extended to encourage local writers and to print and publish books of all types. The society presents the annual Sarpay Beikman Manuscript Awards and Burma National Literature Awards for excellent new unpublished and published writing in various categories.