Five authors share prize money of Sri Lanka’s biggest Sinhala book prize

Judges in final round decline to award ‘Swarna Pusthaka’ award in its inaugural year

Five short-listed Sinhala novelists shared the prize money of the inaugural ‘Swarna Pusthaka’ award, Sri Lanka’s richest literary prize.
Awarded by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association (SLBPA) to uphold the quality of Sinhala novel writing and to encourage novelists to aspire to greater heights in their art, the first Swarna Pusthaka Award considered works of original fiction published in Sri Lanka in 2006.
Three rounds of intensive scrutiny by three independent panels of judges resulted in 67 eligible novels being whittled down to 12 in the first round and to five in the second round.

In the final round, the five-member eminent panel of judges comprising top notch academics Professors Tissa Kariyawasam, Somaratne Balasuriya and K. N. O. Dharmadasa and distinguished writers K. Jayatilleke and Somaweera Senanayake, unanimously recommended against the awarding of the award to any one of the five short-listed works, resulting in the prize money of Rs 500,000 being shared.
“There is a strong and important message in this ruling by the judges in the final round,” SLBPA President Ranjith Samaranayake said. “It is that a winner of this award, which is the first of its kind for Sinhala writing, must represent the pinnacle of current writing and be a worthy representative of modern Sinhala literature.”

The first ever Swarna Pusthaka awards organised in conjunction with the Colombo International Book Fair (CIBF) took place on the eve of the opening of the 2007 fair, the ninth in the series.

The five short-listed books which each won Rs 100,000 were ‘Kanda Pamula’ by Karunadasa Suriyarachchi (Publisher Dayawansa Jayakody & Co.), ‘Chandraratnagé Bhavanthara Charikawa’ by Daya Dissanayake (Sarasavi Publishers), ‘Kindura Gosin Wetunai Pura Madullé’ by Karunadheera Alwis (Stamford Lake), ‘Gangthera Theraniya’ by Erawwala Nandimithra (S. Godage and Brothers) and ‘Tharu Bambasara’ by Rupa Sriyani Ekanayake (Suriya Publishers).

The award of Rs 500,000 and the Swarna Pusthaka award are to be presented annually to one Sinhala novel published and registered at the National Archives in the previous year, provided that the judges agree that one of the short-listed works meets the expected standard.
Speaking as Chief Guest at the first Swarna Pusthaka Awards ceremony, Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva focussed on the importance of Intellectual Property Rights and Sri Lanka’s efforts to protect the creations of local authors. He stressed that writers have a responsibility to raise the intellectual standards of their readers through their work, and that such work deserves the full protection of the country’s intellectual property laws.

In his welcome address, Mr. Samaranayake described the Swarna Pusthaka awards as the commencement of a new golden era in the history of Sinhala literature. “While we must all be proud of 2500 years of history, what is important is that we nurture the body of Sinhala literature and encourage a new generation of Sinhala writers to produce books that win awards,” he stressed.