Fairway National Literary Awards 2016: Shortlists out shortly

The long-awaited shortlists of novels for the Fairway National Literary Awards 2016 will be announced on 30 August. With a record number of entries this year this trilingual literary competition in its relatively short period of existence, has aroused intense interest among authors and publishers alike.

The authors of each of the shortlisted novels in the Sinhala, Tamil and English categories will receive a cash prize of Rs. 100,000 while the winners in each language category will receive a cash prize of Rs. 500,000. Currently, the Fairway National Literary Awards offers the most valuable prizes available in the Sri Lankan literary arena.

The critical acclaim and recognition that accompanies the shortlisting will afford the chosen novels and their authors and publishers greater exposure at the upcoming Colombo International Book Fair in September this year. The Fairway National Literary Awards 2016 ceremony will be held concurrently with the internationally acclaimed Fairway Galle Literary Festival in January 2017, thus providing the shortlisted authors with the additional benefit of being able to present their work to an international audience.

The Fairway National Literary Awards have been created by Fairway Holdings with the goal of encouraging, recognising and rewarding Sri Lankan creative writing talent. Fairway Holdings is a lifestyle company which believes that excellence in creative writing is an essential hallmark of modern cultural life in a nation.