Ameena Hussein (born 1964) is a Sri Lankan sociologist, novelist, editor. Her collections of short stories, ''Fifteen'' and ''Zillij'', were nominated for several awards.

Biography

Ameena Hussein was born in 1964 at

Colpetty Kollupitiya, also known as Colpetty is a major neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name Kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from Kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king of Kandy. During the period of British ...

(now known as Kollupitiya), in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. Her father, Madhi Hussein, was a lawyer while her mother, Marina Caffoor, was a housewife. Ameena has a younger sister. Her parents influenced both of their daughters to maintain the reading habit from a young age. Ameena Hussein was educated at the St.Bridget's Convent, which is situated in

Kollupitiya Kollupitiya, also known as Colpetty is a major neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name Kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from Kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king of Kandy. During the period of British ...

. She was not a good student and was a slow writer.

Literature career

Hussein was generally regarded as a slow writer and it took about eight years to write her first novel, ''The Moon in the Water''. Despite this, her first novel on publication received international recognition and was longlisted for the

Man Asian Literary Prize The Man Asian Literary Prize was an annual literary award between 2007 and 2012, given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year. It is awarded to writer ...

in 2007. She has published two award-winning collections of short stories, ''Fifteen'' and ''Zillij''. ''Fifteen'' was shortlisted for the Graetiaen Prize in 1999, and was also nominated for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

in the same year. Apart from writing short stories Hussein has also published books for children such as ''Milk Rice'', ''Milk Rice 2'' and ''The Vampire Umpire''.

Social services

She has served as a consultant for several international human rights non-governmental organizations. Most notably, she was an editor of ''Sometimes There is No Blood'', a survey of rural women by the International Centre of Ethnic Studies. In 2003, she co-founded jointly with her husband Sam Perera the ''Perera-Hussein Publishing House'' to encourage future and emerging writers in Sri Lanka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussein, Ameena 1964 births Living people Feminist writers People from Colombo 20th-century Sri Lankan writers 20th-century Sri Lankan women writers 21st-century Sri Lankan writers 21st-century Sri Lankan women writers