The Gratiaen Prize is an annual literary prize for the best work of literary writing in English by a resident of Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1992 by the Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje with the money he received as joint-winner of the Booker Prize for his novel The English Patient . [1] The prize is named after Ondaatje's mother, Doris Gratiaen.
Administered by the Gratiaen Trust based in Sri Lanka, the Gratiaen Prize accepts printed books and manuscripts in a range of genres including fiction, poetry, drama, creative prose and literary memoir. Entries may be submitted by both authors and publishers. Submissions are accepted between 1 and 31 December in a given year and are assessed by a panel of three judges appointed by the trust who are required to short-list three to five entries. The short-list event (open to the public) is usually held in April and hosted by the British Council in Colombo. The gala at which the winner is announced is held some weeks later at a venue selected by the trust and the event sponsors and is for invitees only.
The prize could be awarded for a translated work until 2003, when the trust established the H.A.I. Goonetileke Prize, which is awarded every second year for a work translated into English from Sinhala or Tamil.
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Philip Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker.
Simon Navagattegama [also spelled Nawagattegama] was a Sinhala novelist, Sinhala Radio Play writer, playwright and actor.
Sri Lankan literature is the literary tradition of Sri Lanka. The largest part of Sri Lankan literature was written in the Sinhala language, but there is a considerable number of works in other languages used in Sri Lanka over the millennia. However, the languages used in ancient times were very different from the language used in Sri Lanka now.
Jean Arasanayagam was a Sri Lankan poet and fiction writer. She wrote her books in English, and they have been translated into German, French, Danish, Swedish and Japanese.
Kala Keerthi Carl Muller was an award-winning Sri Lankan writer, poet and journalist best known for his trilogy about Burghers in Sri Lanka: The Jam Fruit Tree, Yakada Yaka and Once Upon A Tender Time. He won Gratiaen Awards for The Jam Fruit Tree in 1993 and a State Literary Award for his historical novel, Children of the Lion. He was the first Sri Lankan author to publish a book internationally. He was reported to have died on 2 December 2019 which was confirmed by his son Jeremy Muller.
Deshanabu Tissa Ananda Abeysekara was a Sri Lankan filmmaker, actor, writer, director, screen playwright and political activist. He is better known as a script writer for the cinema as well as a film director. In 1996, his book Bringing Tony Home won the prestigious Gratiaen Prize for the new creative writing in English. He was the chief coordinator of FOSWAL in Sri Lanka and honoured awardee of SAARC Literary Award.
Henry Alfred Ian Goonetilleke was a director of the University of Peradeniya library, the first chairman of the Gratiaen Trust and an eminent scholar in Sri Lanka.
Vivimarie VanderPoorten is a Sri Lankan poet. Her book Nothing Prepares You won the 2007 Gratiaen Prize. She was also awarded the 2009 SAARC Poetry Award in Delhi.
Shehan Karunatilaka is a Sri Lankan writer. He grew up in Colombo, studied in New Zealand and has lived and worked in London, Amsterdam and Singapore. His 2010 debut novel Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew won the Commonwealth Book Prize, the DSC Prize, the Gratiaen Prize and was adjudged the second greatest cricket book of all time by Wisden. His third novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida was announced as the winner of the 2022 Booker Prize on 17 October 2022.
Malinda Channa Pieris Seneviratne is a Sri Lankan poet, critic, journalist, translator, political commentator, and activist. Known for his outspoken political views, his opinion pieces are among the most widely read in English in Sri Lanka. His poetry collections and translations of Sinhala texts have also been widely read and acclaimed, and have been frequently shortlisted for the prestigious Gratiaen Award. On February 17, 2021, he assumed duties as the Director of the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute.
Kala Keerthi Sybil Wettasinghe was a children's book writer and an illustrator in Sri Lanka. Considered as the doyen of children's literature in Sri Lanka, Wettasinghe has produced more than 200 children's books which have been translated into several languages. Two of her best known works are "Child In Me" and "Eternally Yours".
Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayaka is a Sri Lankan academic and author. Her novel There is Something I Have to Tell You won the Gratiaen Prize in 2011. She is the Head of English Language at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Punyakante Wijenaike was a Sri Lankan writer. She has been described as "one of the most underestimated fiction writers currently at work in the English language."
Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew is a 2010 novel by Shehan Karunatilaka. Using cricket as a device to write about Sri Lankan society, the book tells the story of an alcoholic journalist's quest to track down a missing cricketer of the 1980s. The novel was critically hailed on publication, winning awards and much positive review coverage.
Raigam Tele'es is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sri Lanka's television screen, each year by the Kingdom of Raigam, Sri Lanka in recognition of the various contributions made by them to the Sri Lankan teledrama industry, television programs and media sector in the preceding year. The Raigam Tele'es is one of the most popular television program events in Sri Lanka. The awards were first introduced in 2005 and continuously undertaken with one interruption in 2021.
Lakshmi de Silva is a translator, writer and critic from Sri Lanka. In 2000, her work was shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize. She has also received the Sahithyarathna Award for lifetime achievement.
The H.A.I. Goonetileke Prize for Literary Translation is a bi-annual literary prize in Sri Lanka. It is awarded by the Gratiaen Trust, which also awards the Gratiaen Prize, for the translation of Sinhala or Tamil language creative writing into English. It was established in 2003.
Ashok Ferrey is a Sri Lankan writer of literary fiction.