Karunatilaka has become the second Sri Lankan-born author to win, following Michael Ondaatje, who won in 1992 with The English Patient. This year is the first time a book by the publisher has been longlisted for the prize. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is published by the independent press Sort of Books. Last year’s winner Damon Galgut presented Karunatilaka with his prize money of £50,000. The trophy was presented to Karunatilaka by Camilla, the Queen Consort, in one of her first official public engagements since she took on her new role, at a ceremony hosted by comedian Sophie Duker at the Roundhouse in London. This year the original 1969 Booker prize trophy was reinstated in memory of its creator, the children’s author and illustrator Jan Pieńkowski, who died in February. He said he hopes that one day the political situation in Sri Lanka will be such that his novel will “sit on the fantasy shelves of bookshops”. He summarised what he said in English: “I write these books for you… Let’s keep sharing these stories.” Receiving his prize, Karunatilaka addressed the people of Sri Lanka in Tamil and Sinhalese. The judges were unanimous in their decision to award the prize to Karunatilaka, according to the chair. MacGregor was joined on the judging panel by academic and broadcaster Shahidha Bari historian Helen Castor novelist and critic M John Harrison and novelist, poet and professor Alain Mabanckou. “And there the reader finds, to their surprise, joy, tenderness, love and loyalty,” he added.
Neil MacGregor, chair of the judges for this year’s prize, said the novel was chosen because “it’s a book that takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through life and death right to what the author describes as the dark heart of the world”.
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