Source : The Indian Express
Anuk Arudpragasam won the prestigious award for his novel The Story of a Brief Marriage.
Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam won the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017 for his debut novel The Story of a Brief Marriage at the Dhaka Lit Fest on Saturday.
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Minister of Finance of Bangladesh presented the award to Arudpragasam at the Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad Auditorium at the Bangla Academy in Dhaka.
Arudpragasam’s book faced a tough competition from books like Anjali Joseph’s The Living, Aravind Adiga’s Selection Day, Karan Mahajan’s The Association of Small Bombs and and Stephen Alter’s In the Jungles of the Night. The festival was attended by writers, publishers and literary enthusiasts from across the globe.
The price was judged by a diverse and distinguished five member jury panel comprising eminent figures drawn from the international literary fraternity who have worked in or around South Asian literature and issues.
The US $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature which was instituted by Surina Narula and Manhad Narula in 2010, is one of the most prestigious international literary awards specifically focused on South Asian writing.
Speaking on the occasion, Ritu Menon, on behalf of the jury said,“The jury met and discussed the shortlisted novels in detail. As all the shortlisted novels had considerable strengths and remarkable literary quality, deciding the winner was not an easy task.
However, the jury agreed that Anuk Arudpragasam was the best possible choice for his outstanding novel, The Story of a Brief Marriage. The novel is impressive for its intensity and rich detail, and for exploring the tragic heart of war with such quiet eloquence. It is also a testament to the redemptive power of love, and to the human spirit’s capacity for hope.”
Now in its 7th year, the DSC Prize has been successful in bringing South Asian writing to a larger global audience through rewarding and showcasing the achievements of the authors writing about this region.
