Anuradha Roy has been announced the winner of the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2016 for her novel “Sleeping on Jupiter” at the Fairway Galle Literary Festival in Sri Lanka.
In a glittering ceremony, the $50,000 prize and a unique trophy was awarded by Ranil Wickremesinghe, prime minister of Sri Lanka.
Now in its sixth edition, it is an established international literary prize that awards the best work in South Asian fiction each year. This year the DSC Prize had received 74 entries from UK, US, Canada, Australia and South Africa as well.
The jury panel was chaired by Mark Tully, a renowned journalist who has commentated on a wide range of issues affecting the South Asian region for over four decades.
Speaking on the occasion, Mark Tully said: “We had a shortlist of six outstanding books. Their excellence made our task particularly difficult.
“We chose ‘Sleeping on Jupiter’ by Anuradha Roy because of its elegance, flair and readability ... The South Asian setting is described faithfully and evocatively.
“Among the issues raised are the power of memory and myth, religious hypocrisy, sexuality, abuse and other forms of violence,” Tully said.
Congratulating the winner, Surina Narula, MBE and co-founder of the DSC Prize, said: “The winning novel highlights the changing dynamics in South Asian life and culture in a unique way.
“It must have been a tough task for the jury members to choose from the six exceptional contenders and arriving at the eventual winner as each one of the novels represents the very best in South Asian fiction writing.
“Completing six successful years, the DSC Prize remains focused on recognising and showcasing the immense talent writing about the South Asian region and bringing it to the larger global audience,” Narula said.
