Fairway National Literary Awards: Shortlisted writers
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The panel of judges for all three categories and below the shortlisted books. Pix by M.D. Nissanka
The audience was brimming with anticipation as the judges were ushered in for the fourth Fairway National Literary Awards Shortlist for the year 2018- at the Kingsbury Hotel. The award is given in all three language categories for an original novel, each judged by a group of distinguished judges comprising, in each panel, an academic, creative person and an informed reader.
The English shortlist was put together by Professor Dushyanthi Mendis, Professor of English at the University of Colombo, Dr. Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe, poet and author, and Tassie Seneviratne, retired Senior Superintendent of Police. The novels were read in alphabetical order. Sandali Handagama’s Rao’s Guide to Lime Pickling was praised as a poignant coming of age story, set against the backdrop of a separatist war, narrated from the point of view of a child. Seheni Hisara Kariyawasan’s The Chameleon was acclaimed as “a well crafted whodunit which holds the reader’s attention to the end, with dramatic descriptions and red herrings. Characters are built almost entirely through dialogue, showing the author’s ability to enter the minds of the characters”.
Charulatha Abeysekara Thewarathanthri’s Stories was held to be “a novel in which the imaginative world of a young child collides with the external adult world of witchcraft and superstition. Sensuous descriptions of landscapes, decadent aristocracy, and mythical beings evoke a way of life possibly disappearing in Sri Lanka”. Navin Weeraratne’s Zeelam was heralded as a political satire masked as a science fiction- a fast paced narrative with a strong sense of location, with familiar landmarks of a futuristic Colombo.
The judges for the Sinhala language category were Dr. Jayalath Manorathna, actor, published poet, short story writer and novelist; Jayalatha Medawatta, senior lecturer in Sinhala at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura specializing in modern Sinhala fiction and Prof. Somaratna Balasuriya, an academic and a writer who displays deep insight into the social realities of contemporary Sri Lanka.
The shortlisted novels were Aththani Kanu by Sepali Mayadunne; Warana by Padmini Senevirathne, Tharu Visula Reya by Aruna Premarathne, Deshadhrohiyage Nirmala Hardaya by Tharangani Rasika Fernando and Balawa, Kandulu Ginigani by P. B. Jayasekara.
The Tamil language category judges were Dr. Pavithra Kailasapathy, Lareena Abdul Haq and Muralitharan Mauran. The shortlist comprised Kattupol by Premila Pratheepan, Thottruponavargal by Seeman Pathinathan Fernando, Irathakkuliyal by Musdeen, Idipadum Kottaikal by N. Yogenthiranathan and Panichaiadi Munmaariyum Sattakkinarum by A. M. S. Velazhakan.
Each shortlisted novelist in each language category will receive a cash prize of Rs.100,000 while the winner in each category will receive Rs. 500,000. The final award ceremony is to be held later this year.