Join us as we announce the short list for the Gratiaen prize 2018. The announcement will be followed by a moderated discussion with the longlisted authors.
The Gratiaen Prize was founded in 1993 by the Sri Lankan-born writer Michael Ondaatje after he won the Booker Prize for The English Patient. The Gratiaen Prize 2018, the first after the Prize celebrated its 25th year, sees a number of significant changes. This year, given the quality of the submissions received, the Prize is pleased to announce a longlist of eight authors. The event to announce the short list on 8th April will also follow a different format by including a discussion with the long-listed writers, moderated by Ruhanie Perera.
The prize is being be presented under the Gratiaen Trust’s partnership with Sarasavi Bookshop (Pvt) Ltd, who will be sponsoring the main prize awarding event to be held on 9th June at the BMICH. The Prize is awarded each year to the best submitted creative work in English, written by a Sri Lankan writer resident in Sri Lanka. Both published works and unpublished manuscripts are accepted as submissions.
The judges for the Gratiaen Prize 2018 are:
Gill Caldicott, Director, British Council, Sri Lanka (chair) who has taught English literature and is a strong promoter of literature in general;
Ramya Jirasinghe, creative writer and researcher; and
Andi Schubert, university academic and social researcher.
The 2018 Gratiaen Prize Long List
Seneka Abeyratne - The Beast and Other Stories
Elmo Jayawardena - Kakiyan: The Story of a Crow
Chamali Kariyawasam - Catharsis
Shehan Karunatilaka - Chats with the Dead
Upali Mahaliyana - Youthful Escapades
Ayathurai Santhan - Every Journey Ends
Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke - The One Who Loves You So
Zeneefa Zaneer - They Failed to Kill Her