Translation of State Award-winning Sinhala short story wins at Himal Fiction Fest 2026

Saturday, 20 June 2026 05:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Gaya Nagahawatta’s translation titled ‘The Scintillating Darkness Sighted by the Aged Blacksmith’ of the award-winning Sinhala short story by Piyal Kariyawasam was selected as a winner at the Himal Fiction Fest 2026. This is the title story of Kariyawasam’s multiple award-winning third short story collection, “Aachariseeya dutu didulana andakaraya”, published by Godage Publishers in 2008.

The online Himal festival commenced on 8 June and concludes on 19 June with the staggered release of six different works of fiction translated into English from the rich diversity of South Asian languages.

Himal Southasian is Southasia’s first and only regional magazine of politics and culture. To mark its 39th anniversary, the magazine organised this literary festival focused on celebrating “English-language translations of fiction new or old from any South Asian language.”

Gaya Nagahawatta’s translation of the Sinhala short story was among six winners that shared the award. The other winning translations (in alphabetical order) were from Balochi, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Tamil, and Telugu. All the winning stories are accessible to the reader on the Himal website (himalmag.com/tag/himal-fiction fest-2026/).

“Aachariseeya dutu didulana andakaraya” won all three major national-level Sri Lankan awards for Sinhala short story collections that year—the State Award for Best Short Story Collection, the Vidyodhaya Literary Festival Award, and the Godage Publisher’s Award, establishing Kariyawasam as a significant writer among his contemporaries.

This translation of the title story from “Aachariseeya dutu didulana andakaraya” marks the first time a story from this collection has been translated and published. ‘The Scintillating Darkness…’ opens with the disturbing sighting of a damaged dead body of a young rebel, mourned silently by villagers in the face of oppressive state forces, and brings to light the resilience of youth and the unity among villagers across generations.

Piyal Kariyawasam is a writer, theatre practitioner, and lecturer. He has published six works of fiction, staged more than five theatre productions, and also worked in film and television. He has won over fourteen national awards. Piyal Kariyawasam’s latest Sinhala short story collection, “Ridee reyaki kalu diviyeki” (Silver Night Black Leopard) was published in December 2025, as a Sarasavi publication.

Gaya Nagahawatta is a translator, educator, and multidisciplinary artist. She works in Sinhala and English. Apart from her work in local media and publications Gaya’s writing has appeared on Commonwealth Writers’ adda, Literary Shanghai, and SAARC publications. She has also served as non-fiction editor for Rowayat, a literary website. In April 2026, she curated a selection of contemporary Sri Lankan writing— drawn from Sinhala and Tamil literary works—for ‘Avaaz’, a Pakistani online column (lakeermag.com/avaaz-sinhala-tamil-eng), facilitating the translation of Sri Lankan writing into Urdu, Punjabi, and other Pakistani languages. Her win at Himal is the latest step in this ongoing commitment to taking local literature across borders.