Call for Proposals: Gratiaen Prize & The H. A. I. Goonetileke Prize for Translation (Sri Lanka)

Types of Prizes

• The Gratiaen Prize: Presented by Michael Ondaatje
• The H. A. I. Goonetileke Prize for Translation

Prize Information

• The Prize of Sri Lanka Rupees 300,000 will be awarded for the best work of creative writing in English and translation from Sinhala or Tamil into English by a Sri Lankan citizen resident in Sri Lanka, published for the first time in 2024, or unpublished and ready for publication at the time of entry.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Gratiaen Prize:
  • A writer shall be a Sri Lankan citizen aged 16 and over, and resident in Sri Lanka. A writer not resident in Sri Lanka at the time of submitting an application, shall give full particulars regarding residence abroad to include information with documents in support on total period out of Sri Lanka and purpose etc., with the right of the Trustees to call for further information and documents, if deemed necessary at their discretion. The
• H.A.I. Goonetileke Prize:
  • A translator shall be a Sri Lankan citizen aged 16 and over, and resident in Sri Lanka. A translator not resident in Sri Lanka at the time submitting an application, shall give full particulars regarding residence abroad to include information with documents in support on total period out of Sri Lanka and purpose etc., with the right of the Trustees to call for further information and documents if deemed necessary at their discretion.
  • Entries may include works published for the first time in 2024, (or in the case of the H.A.I. Goonetileke Prize, published in 2023-2024), or unpublished works ready for publication at the time of entry. For this purpose, “publication” refers to works printed and available for sale to the public. The date of first publication should be the date given in the book. In the case of play scripts, if there was a production prior to submission, the date of the first production will be taken as the date of publication (with proof).
  • Entries submitted for the Prize should be original works, should be of reasonable length and should not have been submitted earlier for the Prize. Books submitted earlier for the prize cannot be re-submitted. In the case of manuscripts, re-submission is possible but only after significant revision, evidence of which should be attached to the Entry form with the descriptions of change together with the earlier manuscript. Entries being re-submitted on the basis of “significant revisions” shall be accepted at the discretion of the Trustees having evaluated the revisions and being satisfied that the entry may be deemed “new”.
  • If the entry is an unpublished work, but if part of it has been published previously, such published work should not exceed more than one quarter of the total contents of the entry. This condition will not apply to poems or short stories published in periodicals or newspapers.
  • The author/translator of the prize-winning manuscript must publish or sign a contract for publication of the winning work within two (02) years of the award.
  • An author/translator may submit entries under a pseudonym. In this event, the entry form should include the name of the author/translator as given in his/her National Identity Card or passport page. The Trust will disclose the actual name of the author/translator to the judges and the general public at the main award event once the judging process has ended, and only if she/he is shortlisted for, or won the award. Where a published work is submitted, it should be submitted under the same name as appears in the publication.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Previous winners of either Prize will not be eligible to compete for the next two years.

Application Requirements

• Three copies of each book or manuscript entered along with one digital copy (on a pen drive marked with the authors name) should be sent to the Chairperson, The Gratiaen Trust, c/o Marga Institute, 941/1, Jayanthi Mawatha, Kotte Road, Ethul Kotte, Sri Lanka.
• In the case of Translations, four copies of the original work along with four copies of the translation OR three copies of the original work and one digital copy (on a pen drive marked with the authors name) along with three copies of the translation and one digital copy should be sent to the Chairpersons, The Gratiaen Trust, c/o Marga Institute, 941/1, Jayanthi Mawatha, Kotte Road, Etul Kotte. Permission for the translation must be obtained from the author, or copyright holder, and forwarded with the entry.
• Entries close on the 31st of December 2024. All pen drives to be clearly marked with the author’s name.
• All manuscripts should be ready for publication, neatly typed on A4 paper, double-spaced and printed with a one-inch margin all around, pages numbered, with a table of contents and neatly bound (spiral or other). All published books should be submitted in whole including the copyright page with information on the publisher/printer, year of publication and details of authorship. Books, pen drives, and manuscripts accepted for consideration will not be returned.
• Collections of short stories should contain a minimum of ten substantial short stories and collections of poems should contain a minimum of twenty-five substantial poems.
• All information regarding the book, its publication and the author must be accurate. If any discrepancies arise regarding a winning or shortlisted entry, then the Trust reserves the right to retract that award.

For more information, visit The Gratiaen Trust.