Shehan Karunatilaka wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2012
Jaipur, 21st January 2012

The $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2012 was awarded to Singapore based Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka for his book Chinaman, a novel that explores cricket as a metaphor to uncover a lost life and a lost history. Chinaman skilfully uses sport and the notion of fair play to look at Sri Lanka in a fresh and exciting way. The US $50,000 cheque was awarded to Shehan Karunatilaka by Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, Queen Mother of Bhutan, at a ceremony attended by eminent literary figures, renowned authors, international media and a diverse literary audience at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival.

A total of six authors were part of the Shortlist for the DSC Prize 2012 from which the winner was announced. The other shortlisted authors were:

• U.R. Ananthamurthy: Bharathipura (Oxford University Press, India, Translated by Susheela Punitha),
• Chandrakanta: A Street in Srinagar (Zubaan Books, India, Translated by Manisha Chaudhry)
• Usha K.R: Monkey-man (Penguin/Penguin India),
• Tabish Khair: The Thing About Thugs (Fourth Estate/HarperCollins-India),
• Kavery Nambisan: The Story that Must Not Be Told (Viking/Penguin India).

The DSC Prize was judged by a distinguished Jury chaired by Ira Pande along with Dr. Alastair Niven, Dr. Fakrul Alam , Faiza S Khan and Marie Brenner. Commenting on the occasion Ira Pande, Jury chairperson said: “The jury unanimously chose this year’s winner. While this fact in itself is a historic one for book juries are notorious for spirited battles over lists and winners, let me add that this year’s winner is also important for several other reasons. The winning title is a brilliant narration of all that is both great and sad about South Asia and in that sense it brings a world to the reader that needs to be seen outside this region.”

The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature was instituted in January 2010 to celebrate writing that highlights the South Asian region, its people, culture and diaspora. The DSC Prize, which has been envisioned as a unique and prestigious award, recognizes the literary works of authors across the globe writing on South Asia, transcending the origin or ethnicity of the author. The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2011 was awarded to HM Naqvi for his debut novel Home Boy (HarperCollins India).

The DSC Prize is guided by an international Advisory Committee of eminent literary personalities comprising MJ Akbar, Urvashi Butalia, Tina Brown, William Dalrymple, Lord Meghnad Desai, David Godwin, Surina Narula, Senath Walter Perera, Nayantara Sehgal and Michael Worton.

Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka
	Published in Hardcover (28th April 2011) Publisher: Jonathan Cape Language English, 432 pages ISBN-10: 022409145X Guide Price: £12.99 Kindle Edition: £8.26 Click here to buy this book Click here for the Kindle edition