President congratulates Shehan Karunatilaka on winning Booker Prize

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has congratulated Shehan Karunatilaka on becoming the second Sri Lankan-born author to receive the prestigious Booker Prize for his second novel, “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.” 

The Booker Prize 2022, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, has gone to The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, a Sri Lankan writer also known for his rock songs, screenplays and travel stories. 

Upon winning the award, Karunatilaka said, “My hope for [Seven Moons] is this: that in the not-too-distant future, it is read in a Sri Lanka that has understood that the ideas of corruption and race-baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work. 

I hope it’s read in a Sri Lanka that learns from its stories and that this book will be in the fantasy section of a bookshop and will not be mistaken for realism or political satire.”