Here’s a brief introduction to the participants at the Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2017.

 

Jeeva Raghunath 

Jeeva Raghunath started telling stories when she was 5 and has been evolving her story world ever since. She is a bilingual (English and Tamil) storyteller. Her repertoire includes a wide range of Indian and Asian folk-tales, European tales, family stories, true-life incidents, cross-cultural and modern stories. She has also taught French using her creative teaching techniques. One of the first books she translated was Cathy Spagnoli’s Priya’s Day. She has visited 19 countries to tell her stories. Ragunath is also the author of 9 children’s books and has translated 65 books. Jeeva’s Workshops are highly interactive and based on time-tested storytelling ideas. They have also proven effective for varied groups and ages. Topics include storytelling techniques, story development, communication skills through stories, exploring India and developing language skills through stories. 

Ismeth Raheem 

Ismeth Raheem was first an artist and, with Laki Senanayake, a founder member of the Young Artists Group. He studied architecture at Katubedde and in Copenhagen. He assisted Geoffrey Bawa between 1968 and 1976 and worked on a number of key projects such as the Colombo Y.W.C.A., the Serendib Hotel and the Agrarian Research and Training Institute. During this period, he also designed furniture and created artworks for various Bawa hotels. Later, he practiced with Pheroze Choksy and was the architect of the celebrated Habarana Lodge Hotel. He has a wide range of interests and has published a number of books on the history of photography in Sri Lanka. 

Sunethra Rajakarunanayake 

Winner, State Literary Award, 2011, 2008, 2000, 1999, Winner, Swarnapusthaka Award, 2011, 2008, Winner, Buddhist Literature Award, 2009. Author of 43 books, Print and electronic media journalist 

Sunethra Rajakarunanayake, author, translator and tele-script writer is one of the best known writers in the Sinhala language, her books going into many prints. She is the author of many award winning, bestselling novels, among them Thiranganava (1999), Attaining Age (2000) and Nandithaya (2004)—translated into English as The Chameleon. Her other books include Subodhalankaraya (2007), Podu Purushaya (2008)—translated into English as Metta (2011) and Kavi Kandura (2011). She has also translated many books from English to Sinhala and has so far authored 43 books. 

Harshana Rambukwella 

Harshana Rambukwella is Director, Postgraduate Institute of English, Open University of Sri Lanka. He received his PhD from the University of Hong Kong, where he is Honorary Assistant Professor at the School of English. He is an alumnus of the School of Criticism and Theory, Cornell University and has been an Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Harshana’s research interests are in postcolonial literatures, literary history and nationalism. He is a Trustee of the Gratiaen Trust which awards the Gratiaen Prize for exemplary writing in English by Sri Lankan authors. He has served on the juries of the State Literary Prize, Swarnapusthaka and Fairway National Literary Awards. 

Prashani Rambukwella 

Although Prashani is a grown-up, her head is so full of stories and childhood memories that she finds it difficult to keep in mind important details. Mythil’s Secret is Prashani’s debut novel which won the Gratiaen Prize for its ability to “look at life through the eyes of a child.” Its thrilling sequel, Asiri’s Quest follows the adventures of a contemporary and not-so-contemporary young boy and friend on a journey back to World War II Ceylon. Prashani has planted a few seeds in anticipation of growing the third and final book in the trilogy but is yet to figure out just what those promising green shoots will grow into. A corporate writer by profession and a writing coach by choice, Prashani has worked in Hong Kong, India and Sri Lanka. She currently works at Smart Media The Annual Report Company and conducts writing workshops in her spare time. 

David Robson 

David Robson was a lecturer at the University of Ceylon from 1969 to 1972, and between 1979 and 1982 was a planning adviser on the Sri Lankan Government's Hundred Thousand Houses Programme. Later he became Professor of Architecture at the University of Brighton and at the National University of Singapore. His books include Bawa - The Complete Works (2002), Anjalendran, Architect of Sri Lanka (2009), The Architectural Heritage of Sri Lanka (2015) and In Search of Bawa (2016). 

Sunjeev Sahota 

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, 2015, Winner of Encore Award, 2015, Winner of the South Bank Sky Arts Award, 2016 

Sunjeev Sahota was born in 1981 in Derbyshire. He is the author of Ours are the Streets and The Year of the Runaways, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015 and the International Dylan Thomas Prize 2016. It won the Encore Award, for the most outstanding second novel of the year, and the South Bank Sky Arts Award for literature. Sunjeev is a Granta Best Young British Novelist and the first Writer in Residence at Leeds Beckett University. He lives in Sheffield with his wife and two children. 

Somini Sengupta 

George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting, 2003 

Somini Sengupta, a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, has reported from a Himalayan glacier, a Congo River ferry, the streets of Baghdad and Mumbai and many places in between. She is the winner of the 2003 George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting. She was the first Indian-American bureau chief for The New York Times in India. The End of Karma: Hope and Fury Among India's Young is her first book, published in 2016 in the U.S and India. It is also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and IndieBound. 

Anjan Sundaram 

Frontline Club Award, 2015, Royal African Society Book of the Year, 2014, Reuters Prize, 2006 

Anjan Sundaram is the author of Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship and Stringer: A Reporter's Journey in the Congo. An award-winning journalist, he has reported from Central Africa for the New York Times and the Associated Press. His writing has also appeared in Granta, The Guardian, Observer, Foreign Policy, Politico, Telegraph and The Washington Post. His war correspondence from the Central African Republic won a Frontline Club award in 2015, and his reporting on Pygmy tribes in Congo's rainforests won a Reuters prize in 2006. His work has also been shortlisted for the Prix Bayeux and the Kurt Schork Award. Stringer was a Royal African Society Book of the Year in 2014. Anjan graduated from Yale University. 

Miguel Syjuco 

Winner, Man Asian Literary Prize (2008), Winner, Hugh MacLennan Prize (2010), NY Times Notable Book of 2010, Winner, Palanca Award (2008), Winner, Filipino Readers' Choice Award (2012) 

Miguel Syjuco was born and raised in Manila. His debut novel Ilustrado was a NY Times Notable Book of 2010, as well as the winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize, the Hugh MacLennan Prize, the Palanca Award, and the Filipino Readers' Choice Award. Translated into 16 languages, it was also a finalist for several international prizes in its various editions and is currently taught in universities and high schools in the Philippines and around the world. As a journalist and freelance writer, Syjuco was copyeditor at The Independent Weekly (Australia) and The Montreal Gazette, and has written for the New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, the International Herald Tribune, the BBC and many others publications. He is currently visiting Professor of Practice, Literature, and Creative Writing at New York University in Abu Dhabi, and was recently Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University and International Writer-in-Residence at Singapore's Nanyang University. 

Kristina Taylor 

Kristina Taylor is a garden historian, writer and restorer of period gardens. She travelled extensively before studying journalism and developing a television career making wildlife and science documentaries.. Specialising in Japanese gardens, she takes conducted tours to Japan to study their gardens. Recently, she has started taking tours around Scottish gardens. Her book, Women Garden Designers: 1900 to the Present (2015) details twenty-seven of the most important and influential women garden designers and their gardens from around the world. She lectures on gardens and works as a volunteer for The Gardens Trust. She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Roma Tearne 

Roma Tearne is a Sri Lankan-born writer and artist living and working in Britain. Her two-decade long work as a painter, installation artist, and filmmaker has dealt with traces of history and memory within public and private spaces. She has written six novels — Mosquito, Bone China, Brixton Beach, The Swimmer, and her fifth The Road to Urbino, was published by Little Brown in June 2012 to coincide with the premier of her film of that name at the National Gallery in London. She has been short-listed for the Costa, the Kirimaya & LA Times book prizes and long-listed for the Orange Prize in 2011 and, in 2012, the Asian Man Booker. Her most recent novel, The Last Pier (2015) is set in Suffolk on the eve of the Second World War. 

Colm Toibin 

Colm Toibin is the author of eight novels. His New York Times bestselling novel Brooklyn, was made into an acclaimed blockbuster film that was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture. His novel The Master (2004), won the Dublin IMPAC Prize, Prix du Meilleur Livre, LA Times Book Prize and was short-listed for the Booker Prize. He has also been on the Booker Prize shortlist for The Testament of Mary in 2013 and The Blackwater Lightship in 1999. Hi newest novel is Nora Webster. As wel, he had authored two collections of short stories. His play Beauty in a Broken Place was performed at the Peacock Theatre in Dublin, while The Testament of Mary was adapted for Broadway. It starred the great Fiona Shaw and was nominated for a Tony Award. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages. 

Amish Tripathi 

Described as ‘India’s first literary pop star’, Amish’s unique combination of crackling story-telling, religious symbolism and profound philosophies has made him an overnight publishing phenomenon. His four books — The Immortals of Meluha (2010), The Secret of the Nagas (2011) and The Oath of the Vayuputras (2013) collectively comprise the Shiva Trilogy – the highest selling series in the history of Indian publishing – and Scion of Ikshvaku (2015) — have sold over 3.5 million copies and been translated into 16 languages. Amish is a graduate of IIM-Calcutta and worked for 14 years in the financial services industry before turning to full-time writing. He is passionate about history, mythology, philosophy, and finding beauty and meaning in all world religions. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Preeti and son Neel. 

Tricity Vogue 

Ukulele-wielding, cross-dressing ‘master showgirl’ Tricity Vogue has been in the UK cabaret scene for over a decade, charming audiences with her trademark wit, quirk and sauce. Performing solo and with her All Girl Swing Band, this London Cabaret Award nominee has also made her mark across Europe, with performances in Belgium, Ireland and Gibraltar. Tricity has five hit Edinburgh Fringe Festival shows under her belt, and The Tricity Vogue All Girl Swing Band regularly play prestigious venues including London's Royal Festival Hall. She is also co-creator of the cult hit show ‘Heels of Glory: The Drag Action Musical’, which headlined the London Pride festival at the Chelsea Theatre (2016). Tricity's music career began in Sri Lanka in 1992 where her alter-ego Heather Tyrrell was an English teacher at the Colombo International School. 'Star spotted' singing around the piano in a hotel lobby, she was invited to perform at Hilton's Blue Elephant jazz night. 

Preeti Vyas 

Preeti Vyas is CFO (Chief Fun Officer) and founder of FunOKPlease Publishing India, a company that creates books for curious little Indians. The catalogue of 20 books includes titles such as 'Toto the Auto', 'Your Turn Now' and 'Brown like Dosas, Samosas & Sticky Chikki'. The books have won many awards and have also been released as ipad apps and board games. Preeti spent most of her childhood reading books and most of her adult life reading to children along with buying, selling and publishing books for children! Through her 20 year long career in the retail, publishing and content industries in India and Australia, she has worked in a variety of business roles at organisations such as ToysRUs, Sony Music, Crossword, Future Group and also run an independent children's bookshop called Kidztown in Mumbai. Preeti lives in Mumbai with her husband, author Amish and 7-year-old dinosaur expert son Neel. 

Alison Wearing 

Alison Wearing is a Canadian writer and performer. Her first book was the internationally acclaimed travel memoir, Honeymoon in Purdah (2000), an account of a journey through Iran. The book was published in seven countries. Her first solo play, Giving Into Light won numerous Canadian theatre awards. Her most recent work, Confessions of a Fairy's Daughter (2013) is both a memoir and a solo play. Drawing on life experience, it tells the story of growing up with a gay father in the 1980s. The memoir was nominated for the RBC/Taylor Prize for Non-Fiction, shortlisted for the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Nonfiction, and named one of the Top 50 Books of 2013 by Indigo Books. The play has had more than 100 performances. 

Sara Wheeler 

Sara Wheeler is a prize-winning non-fiction writer. Her books include the international bestseller Terra Incognita, which tells the story of a seven-month journey in Antarctica. The Daily Telegraph reviewer wrote of it, ‘I do not think there will ever be a better book written about the Antarctic.’ Other books include The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle (winner of the Banff Adventure Travel Prize), and Access All Areas: Selected Writings, 1990-2010. Sara is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Contributing Editor of The Literary Review and a Trustee of The London Library. She contributes to a wide range of publications in the UK and US and broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio. 

Saman Wickramaarachchi 

Shortlisted for the Fairway National Literary Award (FNLA) 2016, Sinhala Language 

Saman Wickramaarachchi’s novels include Asani wehi, Eeshwareege katha wasthuwa, Asandimiththa - shortlisted for Fairway National Literary Award 2016, and the Sinhala short stories, Sillara Premaya. As a cultural critic, he has reviewed numerous works of Sinhala Literature. Saman has also translated My Days by R. K. Narayan, as well as work by Sartre, Moravia and Chekov; Jaguar’s Smile by Salman Rushdie, Roots by Alex Haley, and The Art of the Novel by Kundera. Currently a visiting law lecturer at Sir John Kothalawala Defence University, he has an LLB Degree from Colombo University, an MA Degree from Kelaniya University and is currently a PhD Reader at Peradeniya University. 

Piyaseeli Wijemanna 

Piyaseeli Wijemanna was Senior Professor of the Department of Sinhala at the University of Peradeniya. She retired in March 2007, and continues to serve as a visiting lecturer. Piyaseeli has over fifty academic papers to her credit, and is the author of three novels, ten story books for children, two translations and two academic works in book form. She has distinguished herself as a creative writer by winning the State Literary Award for the best collection of short stories on three occasions. She is well experienced in evaluating creative work and has functioned as a member of many evaluation boards for literary awards for the past thirty years. 

Luke Wright 

Edinburgh Fringe First award and The Stage Award for Acting Excellence, three week sell out run in London’s West End Soho Theatre 

Luke Wright writes bawdy bar room ballads about small town tragedies and Westminster rogues. His fast paced, witty poems are crammed full of yummy mummies, debauched Tory grandees, maudlin commuters and leering tabloid paps. Since 2006 he has written and performed eight one man shows, touring them to top literary and arts festivals from Australia to Scotland via Hong Kong and Bruges. His debut play What I Learned from Johnny Bevan won a prestigious Fringe First Award at The Edinburgh Fringe, and also bagged Luke The Stage Award for Acting Excellence. It had a sold out three week run at London's Soho Theatre. His first book, Who Writes This Crap? co-written with Joel Stickley, was published in 2007. His poems are often on BBC Radios 3 & 4, while he is a regular contributor to the Sony Award-winning Saturday Live. 

Sunil Yapa 

Winner of Asian American short story award, 2010, Time Magazine Best Books of the year 

Sunil Yapa’s first novel Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist made it to Time Magazine and Amazon Best Books of the year, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick, and an Indies Next Pick. The winner of the 2010 Asian American short story award, Yapa’s work has appeared in Guernica, American Short Fiction, LitHub, The Multicultural Review and others. The biracial son of a Sri Lankan father and a mother from Montana, Yapa has lived around the world, including Greece, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, China, and India, as well as, London, Montreal, and New York City.

List 1 here