Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka wins DSC Prize for ‘Chinaman’
January 21, 2012 10:16 pm
The US $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature which celebrates the richness and diversity of South Asian writing was awarded to Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka, for his novel Chinaman at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival.
Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, is the story of a Sri Lankan journalist’s hunt for a long-forgotten, and a fictional, Sri Lankan cricket player, Pradeep Mathew.
The eminent Jury, chaired by Ira Pande along with renowned literary figures Dr Alastair Niven, Dr. Fakrul Alam, Faiza S Khan, and Marie Brenner, chose the book from a short-list of six extraordinary books including: UR Ananthamurthy: Bharathipura, Chandrakanta: A Street in Srinagar, Usha KR: Monkey-man, Tabish Khair: The Thing About Thugs, and Kavery Nambisan: The Story that Must Not Be Told.
Ira Pande, chairperson of the jury said, “The winner was chosen last night unanimously by the jury, it just took us half an hour to decide who deserves this prize.”
In January 2011, the inaugural DSC Prize was won by Pakistani author HM Naqvi for his debut novel Home Boy. - Hindustan Times
