• The 32nd Gratiaen Prize shortlist announced

A shortlist of five works has been announced for the 32nd Gratiaen Prize, with the winner to be announced on 31 May, along with the winner of the H.A.I. Goonetileke Prize for Literary Translation. The 32nd Gratiaen Prize shortlist included novels, collections of short stories, and poetry, with the judges noting an absence of plays and screenplays among the 51 entries that were narrowed to a nine-title longlist last month.

The shortlist announcement took place on Monday (28) at the British Council. The event commenced with a tribute to the late Prof. Harshana Rambukwella, a Gratiaen trustee, who passed away last week.

Fellow Gratiaen trustee Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu paid tribute to Prof. Rambukwella, saying he was an invaluable member of The Gratiaen Trust. “His involvement in the trust was both, I would say, intimate and inimitable, insofar as selection of jury, various amendments when they were needed – perhaps to a trust document – to the way that we worked. He was absolutely invaluable, he was dynamic, and he had this great sensitivity towards the work that he was doing, both with regard to the trust and beyond.”

His loss, Dr. Saravanamuttu said, was tremendous not only to the trust but also to the world in which Prof. Rambukwella operated.

Celebrating Sri Lankan literature

Addressing the gathering, The Gratiaen Trust Co-chairperson Nafeesa K. Amiruddeen shared a Maya Angelou quote: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” The event, she said, was not just a shortlist announcement, but a celebration of storytellers who have dared to give voice to those untold stories inside them.

“Celebrating 32 years of The Gratiaen Prize is a reminder of just how far we’ve come. It speaks to a community – this community – that has continually chosen to value language, imagination, and the quiet labor of writing,” she added.

Reflecting on the trust’s programmes and workshops held over the past year, Amiruddeen said: “These efforts deepen our commitment to English creative writing, while embracing Sri Lanka’s many voices.”

She added: “And with all our programmes, including our podcasts, streamed and widely viewed, it’s clear that literary engagement is thriving.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Crystal Baines spoke of her experience as a judge of the 32nd Gratiaen Prize, saying: “These last few months have been an incredible learning experience and I say this because as we’ve sifted and read through a very wide range of poetry, novels, short stories, and histories. We got to observe at close quarters the significant shifts and new developments taking shape in Sri Lankan literature.”

Dr. Baines added: “Ever since its inception in 1993, The Gratian Prize has been a harbinger of innovative literary trends, styles, and forms in Sri Lankan English literature.”

“We should mention though that among the 51 entries we read, a notable absence this year was plays and screenplays,” she pointed out.

Supporting literature

An opportunity was also given for supporters of The Gratiaen Trust and The Gratiaen Prize to share their thoughts. The British Council Sri Lanka is the event partner for the shortlist announcement event, and Country Director Orlando Edwards said: “Over the past two years, since I’ve been here as Country Director, I’m proud to say our partnership with The Gratiaen Trust has really grown from strength to strength.”

Highlights have included supporting UK writers to share their ideas in Sri Lanka with teachers, students, and writers. “And we hope that we can continue to expand the talent behind those workshops and encourage them to take part in competitions such as The Gratiaen Prize and thereby build a truly global literary community, helping Sri Lankan writers connect with the world,” he said.

Edwards added: “If there’s one thing Sri Lanka should be exporting more of, it’s world-class stories and writers – not just Ceylon tea, high-quality handlooms, and cricketing miracles.” 

John Keells Foundation is the primary sponsor of The Gratiaen Trust, with John Keells Holdings Head of CSR and Senior Assistant Vice President Carmeline Jayasuriya saying the John Keells Foundation has been partnering with The Gratiaen Trust since 2019, a year marked by the Easter Sunday attacks. “And all the disasters that followed, we have stood through thick and thin, because we believe in the same cause, which is really looking at how we can grow and develop our people and take them not only within the country, giving them that name and that credibility that they deserve, but also taking them onto an international platform.”

She added that in this context, John Keells Foundation and The GratiaenTrust were united in their objectives.

The 32nd Gratiaen Prize shortlist

‘He Was God’s Child Too’ by Upali Mahaliyana

Recounts the experience of growing up with a beloved brother who lived on the autism spectrum in a family, culture, and society that is far from empathetic. Situated in the 1970s and the 1980s, this novel delves into the subject of mental health that has long been ignored and misunderstood in Sri Lanka.

‘Kata Katha: Gossip, Rumours, and Idle Talk’ by Savin Edirisinghe

A collection of witty, bold, and experimental short stories which rests on the premise that gossip in the vernacular sense, a form of oral knowledge system, is the cornerstone of civilisation. Framing each story as a piece of gossip, rumour, or idle talk, the author explores the very serious, curious, and confounding challenges of today’s Sri Lankan youth who grapple with the inheritance of a failed and flawed social, political, and economic system.

‘Nowhere No Return’ by Ajith Perakum Jayasinghe

A collection of short stories that offers poignant testimonies of human resilience in times of conflict. Whether it’s a young football player precariously perched on the wheel housing of a moving aircraft, putting his life on the line to escape violent political forces in search of elusive green pastures, or a young mother, now a climate refugee, wading through a stagnating urban swamp that was once her sparse but happy home and livelihood, the stories dwell on everyday people’s tragedies, dilemmas, and frustrations, which otherwise appear as a fleeting newsflash.

‘The Warm South’ by Vihanga Perera

The novel documents the journeys, whims, and whimsies of a group of privileged urban youth through the cynical eyes of a narrator who is both within and without the seemingly stiff boundaries of class and religion. As the journeys and stories of these insular darlings of the metropolis unfold in popular coastal tourist destinations, so do the stories of spectators from the late 1980s Southern insurrection, which continue to haunt the quiet towns of Sri Lanka.

‘Wombful of Weeds’ by Ranudi Gunawardena

A collection of poems that takes readers through the many journeys and transformations of female experience. From girlhood to womanhood, through lush and serial metaphors, the poetry uses language, spare and precise, to capture the lyrical beauty of the natural world, not as a romantic projection, but as the context for understanding the human animal within it.