Meet The Authors Of FGLF 2017: Shehan Karunatilaka 

The 8th edition of the Fairway Galle Literary Festival is back bigger than ever and will take place from the 11th to the 15th of January 2017. 

With the Festival starting today, we catch up with some of the biggest authors set to attend the 2017 Festival! 

Shehan Karunatilaka is a Sri Lankan author whose book ‘The Chinaman’ was a renowned success internationally. He is the winner of the Commonwealth Book Prize, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature and the Gratiaen Prize. 

Tell us a bit about ‘Chinaman’. What made you decide that you will base your book on cricket? 

Cricket is one thing we’re world class at. Aside from googling the word ‘sex’. And cricket flourished even as the country floundered. And cricket contains all the drama and politics and tragedy and comedy you need for a novel. I wanted to write a Lankan story that didn’t involve the war or the tsunami or race politics or rural life.  So cricket it was. With a little bit of arrack. 

The book takes a very critical view on cricket which is a sport loved by Sri Lankans but also has an underlying message about the Sri Lankan society. Were you ever terrified of any backlash or criticism when you decided to publish the book? 

I think the stuff that happens in real life is far more disturbing than what happens in Chinaman. Mine was just a PG-rated version of what goes on behind the scenes of world cricket and Sri Lankan society. No point being terrified of backlash and criticism. Can’t be a writer without experiencing both. 

The book is the recipient of many international awards such as the Commonwealth Book Prize and the DSC Prize in 2012. Did you ever dream of such a success when you first wrote your book? 

Wasn’t even sure if it would be read outside of Colpetty! The book travelled a lot further than we thought a drunken story of Sri Lankan spin bowling in the 1980s would. 

What’s the one scene in the book that you had a tough time writing? 

The midget in the bunker. It was the tallest story in the deck and needed some setting up and a little more restraint than usual. Went through several drafts and a lot of machete work before deciding to leave that subplot in. It’s the true stories that people have the most trouble believing. That, and the double bounce ball. 

You currently live in Sri Lanka and you are working on your second novel. What are your thoughts on the literary scene in Sri Lanka? Does it need more nurturing? What’s lacking? 

We need to hear more voices from outside the Colombo middle-classes. Insider voices from the frontlines of our conflicts and tragedies and triumphs. Stories from those who don’t usually get a voice in society. 

I’m hoping there’ll be more interchange between the languages. Translations from Sinhala to Tamil to English and back. So we all get to make our writing richer by sharing each others’ tales. There’s plenty of stories in this isle but not enough people telling them well. That said, I think there’s some strong work happening in the oldest and newest forms of literature: in theatre and in online content. 

But generally speaking, we need better editors, harder-working writers, bigger stories, and better proofreaders. 

What kind of impact do you believe the Literary Festival has on the area? 

I hope it excites Galle, gets people reading, unearths new stories from the South, and inspires writers regardless of which alphabet they use. English or Sinhala or Tamil or even Chinese. 

Want to get yourself tickets to meet Shehan Karunatilaka? 

Box office is now open! Tickets  available online at www.mydeal.lk/fairway-glf-2017 or at the box offices mentioned below; 

Colombo: 740, Galle Road, Bambalapitiya. Hotline number - 0717040011 
Galle: 25, Leyn Baan Street Galle Fort. Hotline number - 0717 020011 

Open Mon - Fri (9:00AM - 6:30PM), Sat (9:00AM - 5:00PM)​​ 
Closed: Sunday and mercantile holidays