The Gratiaen Trust, in association with the John Keells Foundation, and with the support of the British Council, continues its mandate of fostering creativity and literary excellence in Sri Lanka with an exciting series of storytelling workshops in celebration of Children’s Day. Workshops targeting young storytellers have been a regular feature on the Gratiaen Trust’s annual calendar.  This year the Trust has expanded the scope of these workshops significantly to include events for teachers of English Literature and ‘A’ level students in Galle, a workshop for teenagers, and a Masterclass for authors of children’s literature in Colombo. The resource person at these workshops will be renowned British author and storyteller, Sita Brahmachari. Furthermore, in October, the Trust will also be hosting its second session of the Gratiaen Trust Young Writers Club. 

Neloufer de Mel, Chairperson of the Gratiaen Trust, stated, “Our mission at the Gratiaen Trust is to unlock the imaginative potential of young writers and artists. We are delighted to have someone like Sita Brahmachari, a renowned UK-based author of children’s literature, to facilitate our Children’s Day programme. Through these workshops, we hope to encourage our future storytellers to be a part of what has now become an exciting Sri Lankan literary scene which is also winning international recognition. It is this focus on a younger generation of creative writers that also propelled us to launch the Gratiaen Young Writers Club earlier this year. We received a very enthusiastic response to the Club, and we look forward to hosting the second session on October 7th at which Gratiaen Prize-winning author Yudhanjaya Wijeratne will also participate.” Orlando Edwards, British Council Sri Lanka Country Director said, “We are delighted to be supporting The Gratiaen Trust with a series of literary events in 23/24, as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of UK-Sri Lanka diplomatic ties. Following a successful visit in June by multiple award-winning British writer, Monique Roffey, we are looking forward to welcoming one of the most interesting and important voices in children’s books and a winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, British author, Sita Brahmachari, in October, for another series of literature workshops and events to celebrate children’s day.”  John Keells Foundation – the CSR entity of the John Keells Group - has been the primary sponsor of the Gratiaen Trust since October 2019 and has provided unstinting support in helping the Trust expand its mandate to include masterclasses, festivals, outreach programmes and workshops.

Children’s Storytelling Workshop Details

Writing Into Childhood is a Masterclass for authors of Children’s literature. Sita Brahmachari invites you to dive into magic realism, oral history, character development and more that shapes stories for children. The workshop is targeted at published authors in English, Sinhala and Tamil. However, the workshop will be conducted in English. 
Date: October 15th at the Lakmahal Community Library, Colombo. 

Writing Treasure Hunt is a workshop targeting young writers between 12 and 16 years old. In this workshop, Sita will take participants on an imaginative treasure hunt and uncover storytelling tricks that will empower them to weave magic with words. 
Date: 14th October at the British Council Library, Colombo. 

In their Voice – Teaching Narrative Writing is a workshop for teachers of English literature (‘O’ and ‘A’ levels) based in schools in the Galle District. In this engaging workshop, Sita will share with teachers techniques that will help their students find their creative voice. This event is for teachers nominated by the Dept. of Education, Southern Province. 

Finding Your Voice is a practical and fun workshop for A-level English Language and Literature students in Galle. Sita will take them on a journey through her experiences in theatre, poetry, and novel writing, helping them discover their unique voices. The event is for students nominated from within the Galle District.

To learn more about these inspiring events and to register for them, please visit the Gratiaen Trust website https://www.gratiaen.com. 

The Gratiaen Trust is a non-profit organisation promoting and encouraging contemporary creative writing in Sri Lanka. Established in 1992, the Trust annually awards the prestigious Gratiaen Prize for outstanding works of literature in English by Sri Lankan authors. The Trust’s mission is to nurture literary talent, foster creativity, and support the growth of Sri Lankan literature. John Keells Foundation has provided unstinting support in helping the Trust expand its mandate.

This year, the Trust has collaborated with the British Council as part of its celebration of 75 years of UK-Sri Lanka diplomatic ties, to bring to Sri Lanka distinguished British authors to conduct workshops and exchange creative ideas.