M.D. Gunasena honours centenary all-island short story competition winners

Friday, 31 January 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

M.D. Gunasena the leading publisher, printer and bookseller, launched an all island inter school short story competition commemorating its centenary celebrations last year. The competition received a total number of 65 entries from all parts of the island, and 15 finalists were selected by academic Prof. Kusuma Karunaratne and veteran writer Kathleen Jayawardena. The event was graced by Chief Guest Governor of Sabaragamuwa Province and former Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka W.J.M. Lokubandara.

Prof. Kusuma Karunaratne, veteran writer Kathleen Jayawardena and the management of M.D. Gunasena were also present. A compilation of the best 15 short stories ‘Niliba’ (The lotus), was also launched at the awards ceremony held in the M.D. Gunasena Auditorium. All finalists were awarded certificates and cash prizes for their entries. The Book Hub, web portal also launched a tri-lingual short story competition and winners received Book Hub Readers and certificates as prizes. All Niliba short stories and the e-short story winners’ entries will be available free of charge at all M.D. Gunasena outlets and The Book Hub web portal. Speaking about the objective of the project M.D. Gunasena Deputy Managing Director Rajiv Gunasena said, “For over a century of operations we have continuously instilled in our nation the value of reading and sharing knowledge throughout many generations. Being well renowned as the company who taught the nation to read we want to build a culture of writers in Sri Lanka to uplift our literature standards. We believe in helping and providing a platform that encourages our future is the best way forward in developing our budding authors.”

M.D. Gunasena since its incorporation in 1913 has become the most prestigious publisher in Sri Lanka with 17 outlets island-wide. For more than a century, the company remains at the forefront of the publishing industry and literature in Sri Lanka.