Grand literary prize aims to take local books to a new level
There is simple joy in reading. The anticipation that accompanies each turn of a page of a new book is something better felt than explained, but in this country with a soaring literacy rate there is hardly a soul that has not felt this pleasure. Come next week, the BMICH will be teeming with book lovers from all walks of life, wandering from hall to hall in pursuit of good reads and affordable books, at the Colombo International Book Fair.
Vijitha Yapa, President of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association and Vice President of the Asia Pacific Publishers Association presented a copy of the 696 page book ‘A Complete Illustrated History of Sri Lanka’ to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The book which had taken seven years of research by the author Dr Anton Sebastian is a Vijitha Yapa publication and weighs a hefty four kilos.
The Fair in its 15th consecutive showing this year will be held in conjunction with the 7th Swarna Pusthaka Awards -Sri Lanka’s richest literary prize. “We do love our books very much, but there was a need to establish an awarding system that would bring out novels of exceptional quality in the country,” says President of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association (SLBPA) and veteran book publisher, Vijitha Yapa.
Explaining what led to the awards seven years ago, he says the time was right for Sri Lankan authors to come into the limelight. “I noticed when I was president of the Book Sellers’ Association that most libraries had books written of Sri Lanka by foreign writers, mostly Indians,” he says. “It’s not that we lacked good writers but rather the platform to be recognised and duly commended by the reading fraternity.”
The five books that have been shortlisted this year for the Pusthaka Awards are: “Atha Atha Nera” by Sumithra Rahubadda, “Senkottan” by Mahinda Prasad Masimbula, “Kaala Sarpa” by Keerthi Welisarage, “Kande Veediya” by Kapila Kumara Kalinga and “Theppasema Gini” by Samaraweera Wijayasingha.
“Each has a beauty of its own,” says Mr. Yapa. These five are the cream of the 116 entries that went through three stages of judging, and then to an independent panel of judges headed by Ariyawansa Ranaweera.
The prizes–a staggering Rs. 750,000, in cash including the grand prize of Rs. 500,000 and Rs 50,000 each to the authors of the five short-listed novels will be presented at the Swarna Pusthaka Awards Ceremony to be held on September 10, at the BMICH. “A large sum of money for the winner is an incentive to raise the bar as far as quality of books is concerened,” adds Mr. Yapa.
In the inaugural year as the judges couldn’t decide on a winner, the prize money was shared among the five finalists: Karunadasa Suriyarachchi, Daya Dissanayake, Karunadheera Alwis, Erawwala Nandimithra and Rupa Sriyani Ekanayake. Every year since, there has always been a clear winner with Rupa Sriyani Ekanayake bagging last year’s award for “Situwara Puwatha”. Mr. Yapa believes that the Swarna Pusthaka awards have opened up new horizons for Sinhala authors in the country, and hopes to present the award to authors of the English and Tamil medium in the near future.
Heading the SLBPA and its 155 members in a mission to actively promote the growth of the industry, Mr. Yapa says that such events will only improve the standard of publishing in the country. The SLBPA actively participates in all major international fairs such as the book fairs in Tokyo, London, Frankfurt, Delhi, Calcutta, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and has its own stall at the London Book Fair.
Novels of every genre were considered for the awards, but Mr. Yapa believes that it takes a special talent to gain international recognition. “It takes a lot of time for a book to be recognised in the eyes of the public,” he says, “but there is always something about a different sort of page-turner.” Novels like Shehan Karunatilaka’s Chinaman set the writing scene ablaze with the writer’s refreshing style, but more so enlightened the readers with a depiction of Sri Lankan life.
“Society looks to a novel to get an idea of the present or past situations of a country, and novelists have the rare opportunity to do this. There is however the case of an author going overboard with emotion and writing in ‘coloured ink’,” he feels. “The novelist should portray a situation and give his opinions, but the art lies in doing it very subtly.” “Many writers with a point of view, sit on the point and miss the view,” he tells us with a smile.
So, what would make the veteran book publisher’s perfect novel? “The characters more than anything else. Even more than the plot, I dare say.” The plot, he concedes, is the backbone of the book, but it is the characters with whom the reader makes an immediate connection. “The policeman with a bushy moustache and funny mannerisms will sink well into the reader’s mind than a vaguely described one. Descriptions of characters makes it all the more enjoyable and closer to heart.Even if a book has an interesting plot, if the characters fail to pull together – the entire book fails,” he says.
Only if there are books of high quality by Sri Lankan authors will events such as the Colombo International Book Fair (CIBF) be of value, he feels.
Come to the book fair
“This year’s book fair will have a massive number of stalls; over 400 in number, including fifty international publishers in attendance,” says President of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association (SLBPA) Vijitha Yapa. “There are no large bookstores in Sri Lanka, and the book fair provides the perfect environment for readers to sift through stalls of books, as one would do in one giant bookstore. That’s the appeal,” he says.
Despite some question over the BMICH which is in hectic preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November, the SLBPA got things on track. “There would absolutely be no way of telling Sri Lankan readers that the book fair would be at a standstill, and fortunately everything fell in place.”
Visitors can expect discounts of up to 20 per cent at any given stall and bigger discounts at some, Mr. Yapa says. The bargain book stall is back once again with magazines selling dirt cheap. “Sometimes I see children breaking open tills in front of me and buying books from their own money. There is so much enthusiasm in this country and we have a responsibility to give them only the best,” Mr. Yapa adds.
The CIBF will be held at the BMICH from September 14-22, from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.
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