Saturday, 11 January 2014 10:38
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Having celebrated two decades of rewarding literary excellence in 2013, yet another cycle of judging and rewarding outstanding literary creativity in Sri Lankan writing in English has begun.
Entries for the 2013 Gratiaen Prize, in affiliation with Standard Chartered Bank, Sri Lanka, closed on 31 December 2013. This year, as in previous years, a large number of submissions were received and the judging process is to commence shortly.
Founded by Michael Ondaatje, and administered by the Gratiaen Trust, the Gratiaen Prize is now a much anticipated item in the country’s literary calendar. The prize has also been awarded for two decades without any break.
Winning the Gratiaen Prize has proven to be a springboard for many writers, with Shehan Karunatilaka’s ‘Chinaman’ possibly being its most iconic success – a book that, perhaps, would have remained an unpublished manuscript for several more years, had it not been for the Gratiaen award helping the author self-publish the text in 2010.
Lal Medawattegedara, whose manuscript ‘Playing Pillow Politics at MGK’ won the prize last year, launched his novel on 30 November 2013 to favourable reviews at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies.
Medawattegedara received the prize money from the Chair of the Gratiaen Trust Prof. Walter Perera on 20 December 2013 at a ceremony held at the Postgraduate Institute of English, Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala.
Speaking after the event, Medawattegedara said: “The Gratiaen Prize has had a huge impact on my literary and professional life.” Such recognition, he said, “inspires writers to innovate, especially in a small literary market for English writing such as Sri Lanka”.
The shortlist for the 2013 Gratiaen Prize will be announced on 7 April and the event will be hosted by the British Council, which has supported the prize throughout its lifespan. The main prize event, fully sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, will be held on 24 May. Following last year’s strong showing, an exciting shortlist is anticipated in April. The winner will be announced in May.
