Sri Lankan writer Guy Gunaratne was announced as the winner of 2019’s Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize and received the winning prize sum of £30,000. He won the award for his debut novel ‘In Our Mad and Furious City’.
About Guy Gunaratne
- He is a 35 years old British-Sri-Lankan human rights documentary filmmaker, turned debut novelist. He won over 5 other shortlisted authors.
- While working as a journalist and documentary filmmaker he has covered human rights stories from around world.
- In Our Mad and Furious City: is his debut novel and is a fictional account of 48 hours (2 days) in a North London housing estate after murder of a British soldier. The book was shortlisted for The Gordon Burn Prize, The Goldsmiths Prize and the Writers Guild Awards and also longlisted for The Man Booker Prize 2019.
- His work was lauded for providing an authentic voice to marginalised section of society and for shining a spotlight on very real experiences of youths belonging to minority ethnic backgrounds.
About Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize
- It is awarded every year for the best published literary work in English language, written by an author aged 39 or under.
- The prize includes a prize sum of £30,000 and celebrates international world of fiction in all its forms including novels, poetry, drama and short stories.
- The year 2019 marks the 11th year of world’s largest English language literary prize for young authors.