The event, at which there will be a panel discussion with the long listed writers, followed by the announcement of the shortlist will be streamed on the Gratiaen Trust Facebook page. The event is held in association with John Keells Foundation and is hosted by the British Council, Colombo.

The seven longlisted writers are:

Uvini Atukorala for A Place Called Home – [unpublished manuscript]

Marianne David for All of the Oranges – [unpublished manuscript]

Ashok Ferrey for An Unmarriageable Man – [published novel)

Shehan Karunatilaka for The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises –[unpublished manuscript]

Ciara Mandulee Mendis for The Lanka Box – [unpublished manuscript]

Rizvina Morseth de Alwis for Talking to the Sky – [unpublished manuscript]

Vivimarie Vanderpoorten for Pictures I Couldn’t Take – [unpublished manuscript]

The Gratiaen Prize, the most prestigious literary prize in Sri Lanka for creative writing in English, is in its 29th edition this year. It is awarded each year to the best submitted creative work in English, written by a Sri Lankan writer resident in the country. Both published works and unpublished manuscripts are accepted, and this year over 60 entries were received.

Each year the Trust appoints a creative writer, an academic, and an informed general reader as judges and this year the panel is chaired by Shyam Selvadurai, an award-winning Canadian novelist of Sri Lankan origin. Others on the jury are Maduranga Kalugampitiya, Head of the Department of English at University of Peradeniya whose writing is on contemporary socio-political issues and humanities education and Keshini Jayawardena, an avid reader, experienced banker and consultant on leadership, diversity and inclusion. Their detailed bios can be found on the Gratiaen Trust website.

The Gratiaen Prize is overseen by the Gratiaen Trust which was founded in 1992 by the renowned novelist Michael Ondaatje. The Trust, of which John Keells Foundation is the primary sponsor, works to recognise and foster creative writing in English and literary translations by writers resident in Sri Lanka. It conducts workshops, masterclasses and outreach programmes towards developing the quality of English creative writing in Sri Lanka.

 For more details, please see: www.gratiaen.com

https://facebook.com/gratientrust

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