British novelist whose debut work features historic tale in Sri Lanka to visit Lit Fest

Meet more writers who will visit during the upcoming  Fairway Galle Lit fest 2016. We feature Paul M.M. Cooper  a debut novelist whose literary work is a historical tale which unfolds in 13th century  Sri Lanka.

Though Paul M.M. Cooper’s ‘River of Ink’ is only due out in 2016, it already has a 4.42 rating on GoodReads (a site popular with bookworms) thanks to pre-release reviews.

The blurb promises a ‘powerful historical tale set in the shadow of oppression’ and reveals that the plot unravels in thirteenth-century Sri Lanka where Asanka, poet to the king, lives a luxurious life at court. Enter Magha, a prince from the mainland, who usurps the throne, and sets Asanka to the role of a lifetime.

‘Magha is a cruel and calculating king – and yet, a lover of poetry – and he commissions Asanka to translate a holy Sanskrit epic into the Tamil language spoken by his recently acquired subjects. The poem will be an olive branch – a symbol of unity between the two cultures.’

The novel is being hailed as a remarkable debut from a young writer who was born in south London and grew up in Wales. Educated at the University of Warwick and UEA, Cooper first came to Sri Lanka to work as an English teacher.

He has since returned many times to the island, seemingly drawn here particularly by the ruins of Polonnaruwa. He has learnt to speak Sinhala and to read Tamil.

On his WordPress site ‘Whatalotofbirds,’ he blogs about his craft and reflects on literature and culture.