Guy Gunaratne (born 1984) is a British journalist, filmmaker and novelist. Gunaratne identifies as non-binary and uses he/they/them pronouns. In 2019 their first novel, ''In Our Mad and Furious City,'' won the

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...

, the

Jhalak Prize The Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour is an annual literary prize awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers. £1,000 is awarded to the sole winner. The Jhalak Prize launched in 2016 and was created by writers Sunn ...

and the

Authors' Club Best First Novel Award The Authors' Club Best First Novel Award is awarded by the Authors' Club to the most promising first novel of the year, written by a British author and published in the UK during the calendar year preceding the year in which the award is presented. ...

. They are based between London and Malmö, Sweden.

Early life and education

Gunaratne was born and grew up in

Neasden Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 ( Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh Har ...

, north west London. Their father had immigrated from

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 ...

in 1951. They studied for a film and television degree at

Brunel University London Brunel University London is a Public university, public Research universities, research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian era, Victorian engineer and pioneer of the I ...

in London, then studied current affairs journalism at

City, University of London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

Career

With fellow student and girlfriend, Heidi Lindvall, they set up a film production company. They made a film about suppression of the media in Sri Lanka a week after the civil war ended, the success of which allowed them to work in television. Though based in London, the couple followed their work in post-conflict areas around the world, living in a number of places, including Berlin. During this period of making work for television, Gunaratne wrote their first novel, ''In Our Mad and Furious City.'' Its story is set in and around a north west London

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

, in the 48 hours following a killing reminiscent of the 2013

murder of Lee Rigby On the afternoon of 22 May 2013, a British Army soldier, Fusilier#United Kingdom, Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was attacked and killed by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woo ...

. It is narrated by five main characters in turn, in first-person voices. ''In Our Mad and Furious City'' deals with "questions about Britain’s divided society and capturing the nuances of urban life". As of 2019, they are based between London and

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Publications

*''In Our Mad and Furious City.'' London:

Tinder Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder i ...

;

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

, 2018. . New York: MCD x FSG Originals, 2018. .

Awards

*2018: Shortlisted,

Gordon Burn Prize Gordon Burn (16 January 1948 – 17 July 2009) was an English writer born in Newcastle upon Tyne and the author of four novels and several works of non-fiction. Background Burn's novels deal with issues of modern fame and faded celebrity as l ...

*2018: Shortlisted,

Goldsmiths Prize The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.'' It is awarded annually to a piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of ...

*2018: Longlisted, 2018 Man Booker Prize *2018: Longlisted,

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize, based at University College London, is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a boa ...

for Political Fiction *2019: Winner,

, a £30,000 award *2019: Winner,

*2019: Winner,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunaratne, Guy British Asian writers British people of Sri Lankan descent British male writers Living people 1984 births Alumni of Brunel University London Alumni of City, University of London