Gratiaen Trust holds literary weekend and Children’s Day event for young readers
The Gratiaen Trust, in association with John Keells Foundation, is organising a series of events that will connect its award winning writers and their books with readers and lovers of literature.
The first in the series is a literary weekend being held this weekend in partnership with the Bentota Beach Hotel.The second celebrating Children’s Day is a fun day of readings and storytelling for young readers at the Sarasavi bookstore at the Galle Face One.
The Literary Weekend and the Children’s Day literary event were conceptualised as avenues to showcase Sri Lankan creative writing in English to readers.
As Neloufer De Mel, Chairperson of the Trust said, “The Trust is always keen to bring Sri Lankan literature in English to readers. But we also hope that the interaction between writers and their audiences will inspire more Sri Lankan creative writing. We are particularly excited about our Children’s Day event. Each year the Gratiaen Prize attracts a significant number of children’s books and manuscripts.
“Sybil Wettasinghe, who won the Prize in 1995, is a legend in this genre, and others such as Prashani Rambukwella have written books that have captured the imagination of many young readers and sold multiple copies. This year we were very proud to have among our shortlisted writers, 16-year- old Praveen Jayamanna. We hope that both Sri Lankan literature in English for children and a younger readership will grow, resulting in wonderful children’s books that are widely read.”
Both the literary weekend and the Children’s Day event are being held according to the social distancing norms currently in place. As a result, the number of participants at both events is restricted. However, edited videos of the writers’ sessions and of the panels from the Bentota event will be uploaded on the Gratiaen Trust Facebook page so that many others can also watch and listen to what the writers have to say.
The Children’s Day event will be held on October 1. Separate morning and afternoon sessions are being held to accommodate more children. The sessions will include dramatised readings as well as a workshop on the craft of story- telling. Both sessions are targeted at age groups 6-12 years.