
I was surprised and excited to hear, only a few days ago, that Thomia has made the Gratiaen Prize 2024 Longlist! I entered the manuscript on the off-chance, half expecting (although the rules do allow it) that such a long, non-fiction work would be rejected out of hand. Imagine my delight, then, at receiving formally, from one of the co-chairs of Gratiaen Trust, the news it was under consideration for the prize. It’s just the longlist, of course: before us lies a long and winding road, which only one of the nominees will be privileged to traverse all the way to the end. So, not quite the occasion for champagne – that will have to stay on ice, quite possibly for good – but certainly one for sharing the news, and for congratulating the other authors whose works made the list.
Here are their names, and the names of the works they have entered for the Prize:
Jehan Aloysius (Crossing the Line)
Pasan Jayasinghe (A Passing Return) Ramya Jirasinghe (Father Cabraal’s Recipe for Love Cake)
Lal Medawattagedara (When Ghosts Die)
Vihanga Perera (Students & Rebels)
Selvi Sachithananthan (Gnanam)
E.M. Tennakoon (Footnotes of a Protest)
I wish them all good luck, declaring (as in the old Thomian tradition), ‘May the best book win!’
Well done Richard!
One hopes the majority of the members in the jury have a ‘passion’ for history and (important connective!) the matter of ‘impact upon a social dynamic’.
Congratulations!