The Gratiaen Prize is an annual literary prize for the best work of literary writing in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by a resident of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It was founded in 1992 by the Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

with the money he received as joint-winner of the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

for his novel ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...

''. The prize is named after Ondaatje's mother, Doris Gratiaen. Administered by the Gratiaen Trust based in Sri Lanka, the Gratiaen Prize accepts printed books and manuscripts in a range of genres including fiction, poetry, drama, creative prose and literary memoir. Entries may be submitted by both authors and publishers. Submissions are accepted between 1 and 31 December in a given year and are assessed by a panel of three judges appointed by the trust who are required to short-list three to five entries. The short-list event (open to the public) is usually held in April and hosted by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. The gala at which the winner is announced is held some weeks later at a venue selected by the trust and the event sponsors and is for invitees only. The prize could be awarded for a translated work until 2003, when the trust established the H.A.I. Goonetileke Prize, which is awarded every second year for a work translated into English from Sinhala or

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Winners

1993 *

Carl Muller Kala Keerthi Carl Muller (22 October 1935 – 2 December 2019) was an award-winning Sri Lankan writer, poet and journalist best known for his trilogy about Burghers in Sri Lanka: ''The Jam Fruit Tree'', ''Yakada Yaka'' and ''Once Upon A ...

, ''The Jam Fruit Tree'' * Lalitha Withanachchi, Wind Blows Over the Hills 1994 * Punyakante Wijenaike, ''Amulet'' 1995 * Sybil Wettasinghe, ''The Child in Me'' * Rajiva Wijesingha, ''Servants'' 1996 *

Tissa Abeysekera Deshanabu Tissa Ananda Abeysekara (7 May 1939 – 18 April 2009 as තිස්ස අබේසේකර) was a Sri Lankan filmmaker, actor, writer, director, screen playwright and political activist. He is better known as a script writer for th ...

, ''Bringing Tony Home'' 1997 * Gamini Akmeemana, ''The Mirage'' 1998 * Jeanne Thwaites, ''It's a Sunny Day on the Moon'' 1999 * Neil Fernandopulle, ''Shrapnel'' * Visakesa Chandrasekaram, ''Forbidden Area'' 2000 * Ruwanthi De Chickera, ''Middle of Silence'' 2001 * Elmo Jayawardene, ''Sam’s Story'' * Sumathi Sivamohan, ''In the Shadow of the Gun/The Wicked Witch'' 2002 *

Vijita Fernando Vijita Fernando (born 5 December 1926) is a Sri Lankan journalist, translator and fiction writer. She was a winner of the Gratiaen Prize Nihal De Silva Nihal De Silva (19?? – 28 May 2006) was a Sri Lankan novelist. He won the Gratiaen Prize for his novel '' The Road From Elephant Pass'' which was later made into a film. He also published ''The Far Spent Day'' and ''The Ginirella Conspiracy'' ...

, ''Road from Elephant Pass'' 2004 * Jagath Kumarasinghe, ''Kider Chetty Street'' 2005 * Delon Weerasinghe, ''Thicker Than Blood'' 2006 * Senaka Abeyratne, ''3 Star K'' * Isankya Kodittuwakku, ''The Banana Tree Crisis'' 2007 * Vivimarie Vanderpoorten, ''Nothing Prepares You'' 2008 *

Shehan Karunatilaka Shehan Karunatilaka (born 1975) is a Sri Lankan writer. He grew up in Colombo, studied in New Zealand and has lived and worked in London, Amsterdam and Singapore. His 2010 debut novel '' Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew'' won the Commonwea ...

, '' Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew'' 2009 * Prashani Rambukwella, ''Mythil's Secret'' 2010 * Sakuntala Sachithanandan, ''On the Streets and Other Revelations'' 2011 * Madhubhashini Disanayake-Ratnayake, ''There's Something I Have to Tell You'' 2012 * Lal Meddawattegedera, ''Playing Pillow Talk at MGK'' 2013 *

Malinda Seneviratne Malinda Channa Pieris Seneviratne (born September 23, 1965) is a Sri Lankan poet, critic, journalist, translator, political commentator, and activist. Known for his outspoken political views, his opinion pieces are among the most widely read in ...

, ''Edges'' 2014 * Vihanga Perera, ''Love and Protest'' 2015 * Thiyagaraja Arasanayagam, ''White Lanterns: Wesak 2011'' 2016 * Charulatha Abeysekara Thewarathanthri, ''Stories'' 2017 *

Jean Arasanayagam Jean Arasanayagam (born Jean Solomons; 2 December 1931 – 30 July 2019) was a Sri Lankan poet and fiction writer. Although she wrote her books in English, they have been translated into German, French, Danish, Swedish and Japanese. Her husband ...

, ''The Life of the Poet'' 2018 * Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke, ''The One Who Loves You So'' 2019 * Andrew Fidel Fernando, ''Upon a Sleepless Isle'' 2020 * Carmel Miranda, ''Crossmatch'' 2021 * Ashok Ferrey, ''The Unmarriageable Man''

References

External links

Official website
1992 establishments in Sri Lanka Awards established in 1992 Sri Lankan literary awards {{lit-award-stub