Recognising the best novels in Sinhala literature is the “Swarna Pusthaka Award”, which went to Chandrarathna Bandara’s Premanishansa this year.
The novel was recognised for threading the line between literature and fiction.
The award ceremony was held on 10 September at the BMICH and authors, artists, critics, and readers attended the event to witness one of the most prestigious literary awards in the country being granted.
The chief guest was Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, who addressed the gathering, saying Sinhala literature has not yet caught up with technological advancements. He explained that unlike in the past, people no longer spend hours reading a book in a quiet place, and many even read newspapers on their mobile devices. Given this, as well as the current situation in the country, he stressed that Sinhala literature needs to adapt in order to go forward.
“All sectors are facing difficulties due to the economic crisis in the country, and book publishing is also facing severe challenges. In recent times, we saw that even printing exam question papers became difficult. We hope that this industry will normalise in the future,” Dr. Weerasinghe said.
The 2022 shortlist included five books in total. The other titles are Sandhyanandaya by Keerthi Welisarage, Nakula Muni by Eric Elayaparachchi, Hin Dos Male by Sepali Mayadunne, and Mage Chicago Hadawatha by Shamel Jayakody. This is the 16th chapter of the “Swarna Pusthaka”, which is awarded by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association annually.