STATE LITERARY AWARDS ON SEPTEMBER 11

Sahityaratna to be conferred on three eminent personnel who rendered yeoman service to Sri Lankan literature

The State Literary Awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, September 11 at 3.00 p.m. at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena and with the participation of Higher Education and Cultural Affairs Minister Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapakshe.

The title Sahityaratna will be conferred on three eminent personnel who rendered their yeoman service to the Sri Lankan literature in Sinhala, Tamil and English at the ceremony.

Authors who published creative and academic/research work in 2017, in all three languages i.e. Sinhala, Tamil and English, would be felicitated after proper assessment, at this august assembly.

These include originals and the translations of novels, short stories, poetry, plays, lyrics and literature for youth, literature for children and science fiction in the creative genre.

In addition, originals and translations of academic and research, and works of varied subjects which include the fields of humanities, social sciences, and translations of related genres would be evaluated and awarded for the best work.

Arrangements have been made to include some selected creative performances of renowned artistes including Channa Wijewardena and Ravibandu Vidyapathy to make the occasion colourful and memorable.

The State Literary Awards ceremony was first held in 1957 and this year marks its 61st anniversary, a record not only in Sri Lanka but the world at large.

The whole process of selection and organizing the ceremony was done by the State Literary Advisory Board, Arts Council of Sri Lanka, Department of Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of Higher Education and Cultural Affairs.