Romesh Gunesekera
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Romesh Gunesekera | |
|---|---|
 Romesh Gunesekera at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2012 | |
| Born | 1954 Colombo,Sri Lanka |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan-born British |
| Notable works | Reef(1994);The Match(2006) |
| Notable awards | Fellow of the Royal Society of LiteratureUK, Sri Lanka Ranjana National Honour |
Romesh GunesekeraFRSL(born 1954) is aSri Lankan-born British author,[1]who was shortlisted for theBooker Prizefor his novelReefin 1994.[2]He has judged a number of literary prizes and was Chair of the judges ofCommonwealth Short Story Prizecompetition for 2015.[3]
Life and work[edit]
Born inColomboto aSinhaleseChristianfamily in 1954, Romesh Gunesekera grew up inSri Lankaand thePhilippines,where his father was a founder of theAsian Development Bank,and moved to England in 1971 and currently lives inLondon.His first book,Monkfish Moon,a collection of short stories reflecting the ethnic and political tensions that have threatenedSri Lankasince independence in 1948, was published in 1992, and was shortlisted for several prizes.[4]His 1994 novelReefwas shortlisted for theBooker Prize.
Gunesekera travels widely for festivals, workshops andBritish Counciltours. He is a member of the Advisory Board of theAsia House Festival of Asian Literature.[5] He is currently one of the writers-in-residence for the charityFirst Story.[6]He also has a short story related to the theme of animal poaching.
He was a judge for a number of literary prizes, such as theCaine Prize for African Writing,[7]theDavid Cohen Prize for Literature,theForward Prize for Poetry[8]and most recently theGranta2013 list of the Best of Young British Novelists.[9]
He chaired the board of judges of the 2015Commonwealth Short Story Prizecompetition.
He has been a Guest Director at theCheltenham Festival,an Associate Tutor atGoldsmiths Collegeand on the Board of theArvon Foundation.For four years, until 2013, he was on the Council of theRoyal Society of Literature.
He is married with two daughters.[10]
Bibliography[edit]
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Books[edit]
- Gunesekera, Romesh (1992).Monkfish Moon.ISBN9781565840775.
- Reef– 1994
- The Sandglass– 1998
- Heaven's Edge– 2002
- The Match– 2006
- The Prisoner of Paradise– 2012
- Noon Tide Toll– 2013
- Suncatcher– 2019
Short fiction[edit]
| Title | Year | First published | Reprinted/collected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road kill | 2013 | Gunesekera, Romesh (2 December 2013). "Road kill".The New Yorker.Vol. 89, no. 39. pp. 62–65. |
Awards[edit]
- Asian Achievers Award for services to media, arts and culture 2015
- Sri Lanka Ranjana 2005
- BBCAsia Award 1998 for Achievement in Writing & Literature
- Winner Premio Mondello Five Continents Asia Prize 1997 (Reef)
- Winner ofYorkshire PostFirst Work Prize 1995 (forReef)
- FinalistBooker Prize1994 (Reef)
- FinalistGuardian Fiction Prize1994 (forReef)
- FinalistCommonwealth Writers' Regional Prize1993 (forMonkfish Moon)
- FinalistDavid Higham Prize1992 (forMonkfish Moon)
- Arts CouncilWriters' Bursary 1991
- First prize in the Peterloo Open Poetry Competition in 1988
- The Rathborne Prize in Philosophy 1976
- Liverpool College Poetry Prize 1972
References[edit]
- ^"About Romesh Gunasekera".Retrieved19 November2020.
- ^"Romesh Gunesekera",The Man Booker Prize
- ^"The 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize".Commonwealth Writers.31 August 2015.Retrieved19 November2020.
- ^Biographyat Romesh Gunesekera website.
- ^"Grammar, Style, and Usage".Writing Explained.Retrieved19 November2020.
- ^"Writers Archives".Retrieved19 November2020.
- ^"Judges 2005",The Caine Prize.
- ^"Forward Judges",Forward Arts Foundation.
- ^"Granta and British Council Announce ‘Best of Young British Novelists’ Partnership",Granta.
- ^Bunbury, Stephanie (2 September 2006). "Finding meaning in a long gone past",The Age,Insight, p. 10.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Portraits of Romesh Gunesekeraat theNational Portrait Gallery, London
- Romesh Gunesekeraat theRoyal Society of Literature
- Biography, bibliography and critical perspective of the author at contemporarywriters
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
- 1954 births
- Living people
- 20th-century British novelists
- 21st-century British novelists
- British male novelists
- English people of Sri Lankan descent
- Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
- Sri Lanka Ranajana
- Sri Lankan novelists
- The New Yorker people
- 20th-century British male writers
- 21st-century British male writers