Podcasts about Romesh Gunesekera

Romesh Gunesekera is on Harshaneeyam talking about evaluating the International Booker Prize - 2024 and his journey as a reader and writer.Romesh Gunesekera was born in Colombo and lives in London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He is currently judging the 2024 International Booker Prize.(00:00) Introduction to Ramesh Bhunasekara and His Literary Journey(01:16) The Beginnings of a Reader Turned Writer(07:38) The Evolution of a Writer: From Reader to International Author(09:53) Diving Deep into 'Reef': A Booker Prize Journey(16:12) The Art and Impact of Translation in Literature(18:54) Inside the International Booker Prize 2024: A Judge's Perspective(28:09) Reflecting on the Magic of Writing and Reading33:58 Ramesh Bhunasekara's Current Literary EndeavorsHe is internationally acclaimed for fiction that explores the key themes of our times — political, ecological, and economic — through novels and stories of wide appeal. His fiction over the years includes Reef, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1994, The Match. and Noontide Toll. His most recent novel, Suncatcher, returns to an earlier era in Sri Lanka and is a story of divided loyalties and endangered friendships in the turbulent 1960s.He has chaired the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the Gratiaen Prize in Sri Lanka. .He has taught creative writing and run workshops around the world. He is also the co-author of the Writers' & Artists' Companion to Novel Writing.* For your Valuable feedback on this Episode - Please click the link given below.https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/feedbackHarshaneeyam on Spotify App –https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/onspotHarshaneeyam on Apple App – https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/onapple*Contact us - harshaneeyam@gmail.com ***Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by Interviewees in interviews conducted by Harshaneeyam Podcast are those of the Interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Harshaneeyam Podcast. Any content provided by Interviewees is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrpChartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

The accolades that Sri Lankan-born novelist Romesh Gunesekera has received include being shortlisted for the Booker prize and having a novel on the ‘New York Times’ list of notable books. He joins Georgina Godwin – and her dog – for a walk and a discussion about home, identity, conflict and his latest book, ‘Suncatcher’.

Authors Anne Fine and Romesh Gunesekera are Fellows of the Royal Literature Society who signed the Register on the same day. In the first of a series of conversations with writers who would have been sharing a stage at a literary festival, they talk to Shahidha Bari. Plus a postcard from 2020 New Generation Thinker Diarmuid Hester on the saving of Derek Jarman’s house and garden - also the subject of Sunday’s Words and Music which you can find on BBC Sounds and here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jdz0 The Norfolk and Norwich Festival which would have featured the meeting of Romesh and Anne has more author interviews on its website https://nnfestival.org.uk/ Romesh Gunesekera's latest book is Suncatcher. You can hear him discussing it in more detail with William Dalrymple and Susheila Nasta in an episode of Free Thinking called The Shadow of Empire and Colonialism https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000c0f7 Anne Fine's books include Goggle Eyes, The Granny Project, The Jamie Angus Stories, The Tulip Touch, Battle of Wills and her latest Blood Family. You can hear her discussing family life along with Tobias Jones, Tom Shakespeare and Professor Sarah Cunningham Burley in a Free Thinking Festival discussion called The Family is Dead, Long Live the Family https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06pswsk New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to select ten academics each year who turn their research into radio. You can find a series of Essays and postcards from them in playlists on the Free Thinking programme website https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0144txn Producer: Robyn Read

Sri Lankan born author Romesh Gunesekera does not transcribe reality, he recreates it from a mixture of memory and imagination. Nominated for one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards, the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, for his debut novel Reef – Romesh has been publishing novels, short stories and poetry for more than 30 years. Harriett Gilbert meets Romesh at his London home in early 2018, to find out how he is crafting his latest novel, Suncatcher. It tells the story of two boys growing up in 1960s Sri Lanka, examining their friendship and the beginnings of a political awakening. Romesh has been working on his book for several years and is now meticulously revising the text – questioning each word – as he prepares to send his precious manuscript out into the world.

A woman in a series of hotel rooms, two boys riding bikes in 1960s Sri Lanka, and a girl fleeing an ominous pairing of a Priest and a Poacher. New fiction.

Romesh Gunesekera is the author of many acclaimed works of fiction including Reef, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, The Sandglass, winner of the inaugural BBC Asia Award, and The Match, the ground-breaking cricket novel. His fiction has been translated into over a dozen languages and he is the recipient of many awards including a Premio Mondello in Italy. He was born in Colombo and lives in London. His latest novel is Suncatcher. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Historian William Dalrymple, Wasafiri editor Susheila Nasta and novelist Romesh Gunesekera join Rana Mitter for a conversation looking at the East India company, the socialist economic policies and language battles in Ceylon in the 1960s before it became Sri Lanka and the way writing from around the world has reflected changes of attitude to post colonial history. Sri Lankan-born British author Romesh Gunesekera has just published his ninth novel, Suncatcher, depicting two boys, Jay and Kairo, growing up in 1964, who overcome their different backgrounds to become friends at a time when Ceylon is on the brink of change. Wasafiri, the magazine of international contemporary writing, has just published its 100th edition, which includes an interview with Romesh Gunesekera. The publication derives its name from a KiSwahili word meaning "travellers" that is etymologically linked with the Arabic word "safari". Susheila Nasta, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literatures at QMUL, was the founding editor, the recipient of the 2019 Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature and is now handing over the reins to Malachi McIntosh. She has just edited a collection of essays called Brave New Words: The Power of Writing Now and has completed compiling, with Mark Stein, The Cambridge History of Black and Asian British Writing, due out in 2020. William Dalrymple has published The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company which you can find as a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000b4pz He has curated an exhibition at the Wallace Collection in London, Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company, which runs from Dec 4th to April 19th 2020 Producer: Torquil MacLeod

Stand up comedian Nish Kumar was booed off stage at a charity gig for The Lord's Taverners. How do comedians cope when the audience disagrees with their political stance or just takes against them? Ayesha Hazarika is a much-in-demand comedian with well-known strong political views. What are her strategies for coping when facing vocal hostility from the people who've paid to see her perform? Honey Boy is a new film written by Shia LaBeouf, a largely autobiographical story of an actor in rehab who, in an attempt to cure his PTSD, revisits memories of his abusive childhood. Jumping between present day and 1995, LaBeouf plays a version of his own father, a recovering alcoholic, sharing a motel room with son and child star 'Otis' whilst filming for children’s television nearby. Documentary filmmaker and film critic Charlie Lyne gives us his verdict. There's a heated debate in film circles at the moment. As cinema companies and Netflix clash over the distribution of Martin Scorsese’s epic mob drama The Irishman, how vital is it that it should it be seen on the big screen vs streaming on Netflix? The streaming service has a policy of restricting the amount of time its films are shown on actual cinema screens. We ask whether going to the cinema may eventually become an elite pursuit. Sri Lankan author Romesh Gunesekera discusses his new novel Suncatcher. It’s set in the country of his birth in 1964 when national political turbulence seems to echo the emotional turmoil experienced by the central character, Kairo, a boy on the cusp of adolescence attempting to make sense of the world around him. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Oliver Jones

The Gangster The Cop The Devil is an award-winning Korean action thriller about an unlikely alliance between a maverick police detective and a ruthless mobster who have to work together to catch a serial killer Touching the Void began life as a book by Joe Simpson, about a climbing accident which nearly killed him. It has since been turned into a film and now a stage play. How can you show vertiginous dangers and a lot of internal thought processes in the theatre? Sri Lankan writer Romesh Gunesekera was born in Ceylon - as it was known then - and his coming of age novel "Suncatcher" is set in his native country in 1964, as the struggle for independence began. Gold Digger is a Sunday night series just started on BBC1. When their 60 year old mum meets and moves in with a much younger man, Julia's children decide they don't like it and start to try and drive them apart George IV : Art and Spectacle has just opened at The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. He was arguably the most magnificent of British monarchs and formed an unrivalled collection of art, much of which remains in the Royal Collection Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Charlotte Mullins, Lynn Shepherd and Jim White. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Lynn - Leonardo Da Vinci at London's National Gallery Charlotte - Kathe Kollwitz at British Museum and Elizabeth Peyton at London's National Portrait Gallery Jim - Bruce Springsteen, Western Stars Tom - Giri Haji on BBC2 Rembrandt van Rijn, The Shipbuilder and his Wife: Jan Rijcksen and his Wife, Griet Jans, 1633 Image credit: Royal Collection Trust / (c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019

This is the Writers’ Rebellion: Are You Here For This? The Extinction Rebellion Podcast is back to normal length; with an episode perfect to kick back to during the post rebellion regenerative period. It features a feast of stories and poems from the Writers' Marathon in Trafalgar Square, London (on the 11th of October, 2019). From Salena Goddens’ call to action, to Philip Hoare’s face-to-face encounter with a whale, Owen Sheers' poem to his daughter in the womb, to Natasha Walter and Tom Bollough’s recollections of being arrested for Extinction Rebellion. Oh, and there is also an interview with Booker Prize co-winner, and author of "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Testaments", Margaret Atwood. Other writers featured in this episode include: Ali Smith, Naomi Alderman, Anjali Joseph, Irenosen Okojie, Robert Macfarlane, Romesh Gunesekera, Simon Schama, and comperes Simon McBurney and AL Kennedy. Extinction Rebellion has three demands. 1) Tell the Truth - Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change. 2) Act Now - Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. 3) Beyond Politics - Government must create and be led by the decision of a Citizens' Assembly on climate and ecological justice. Producer / Presenter: Jessica Townsend Editor / Sound Engineer : Lucy Evans Social Media: Barney Weston

On Friday the 11th October 2019, from 5-9pm in Trafalgar Square (London), Extinction Rebellion will be launching Writers Rebel, an initiative to encourage writers to address the climate emergency in their work. In this episode we first speak to Writers Rebel organisers and novelists, James Miller (who wrote Lost Boys and Sunshine State), Monique Roffrey (whose novel Archipelago won the OCM Bocas Award for Caribbean Literature), and Chloe Aridjis, (who wrote Book of Clouds, was guest curator at Tate Liverpool, and has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship). We then speak to feminist, academic and psychologist Susie Orbach, discussing what kind of stories suit our troubled times, and Pultizer Prize finalist Jonathan Franzen, around the fallout from his recent New Yorker piece. On Friday, readers will include Ali Smith, Romesh Gunesekera, Robert Macfarlane, Naomi Alderman, Polly Stenhem, Simon Schama, A.L. Kennedy, Paul Farley, and Daljit Nagra. Extinction Rebellion has three demands. 1) Tell the Truth - Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change. 2) Act Now - Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. 3) Beyond Politics - Government must create and be led by the decision of a Citizens' Assembly on climate and ecological justice. Producers - Jessica Townsend, Lucy Evans Editors - Dave Stitch, Lucy Evans Presenter - Jessica Townsend Social Media Producer - Barney Weston

Anjali Joseph, Lijia Zhang and Romesh Gunesekera in conversation with Catharine Morris. Three writers speak about ways of seeing and recording, and how they navigate words across countries and cultures. Romesh Gunesekera is the acclaimed Sri Lankan-born British author and finalist for the Man Booker Prize. Award-winning Anjali Joseph has written three novels, including her recent The Living. China-born writer and journalist Lijia Zhang has written memorable books that include China Remembers, Socialism Is Great! and Lotus. In conversation with editor and writer Catharine Morris. This episode is a live session from #ZEEJLFatBL2019.

Shashi Tharoor, Wajahat S. Khan, Romesh Gunesekera and Prashant Kidambi in conversation with Mukulika Banerjee. Cricket in South Asia has become a symbol of national identity and a surrogate battleground between competing nationalisms. Prashant Kidambi’s Cricket Country: An Indian Odyssey in the Age of Empire tells the story of the first all Indian cricket tour of Britain and Ireland and how the idea of India took shape on the cricket field. Emmy-nominated multimedia journalist Wajahat S. Khan has co-authored Game Changer, a riveting memoir of Shahid Afridi, one of modern cricket's most controversial and accomplished practitioners. Indian politician and bestselling author Shashi Tharoor and acclaimed Sri Lankan author Romesh Gunesekera have written extensively on the sport. In conversation with writer and academic Mukulika Banerjee, they speak of how cricket has helped fashion the imagined communities of both empire and nation. This episode is a live session from #ZEEJLFatBL2019.

Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe discuss their BBC late-night Prom which includes the world premiere of A Man From the Future, about Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing; Private Eye editor Ian Hislop reviews last night's opening of the Richard Bean play Great Britain starring Billie Piper, which deals with Leveson and the phone-hacking affair; English National Opera's Artistic Director John Berry on today's announcement of Arts Council cuts in funding; and Romesh Gunesekera on Noontide Toll, his new collection of related stories which deal with the effects of Sri Lanka's civil war.

It's over the mountains, it has no major roads, it's too dangerous, or tourists don't get it at all. Five writers with a desire for travel or living elsewhere recall a city that once captured their hearts and minds for reasons of secrecy or isolation, or simply being off limits.The novelist Romesh Gunesekera can't wait to tell us about Kunming, which is so unlike any other modern Chinese city...Producer Duncan MinshullFirst broadcast in April 2013.

Romesh Gunesekera, the celebrated British/Sri Lankan author of the Booker-prize nominated 'Reef', presents the first of the 2014 Wolfson Lecture series on 'New Challenges for South Asian Writing in the 21st century'.

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly and writer Romesh Gunesekera tell Harriett Gilbert about the books they love, that have meant most to them throughout their lives. Lorraine's deep love of Orkney is reflected in her choice of Greenvoe by George Mackay Brown. Romesh's choice, On the Road by Jack Kerouac. Harriett's own recommendation is Good Behaviour by the Irish novelist Molly Keane. Producer Beth O'Dea

Five contemporary novelists examine the craft of Dickens's prose, and reflect on how the giant of British nineteenth-century fiction is both a role model and a shadow looming over their own writing. Taking as their starting point a favourite extract from one of Dickens's novels, each writer discuss Dickens's themes, narrative techniques and writing craft, and tells us what they themselves have learnt from it. They offer thoughtful, unusually engaged and focused critical appreciation of Dickens's skill, as well as valuable insights into their own work and how they themselves wrestle with the subject and technique under discussion. In the second essay in the series, Booker-shortlisted novelist Romesh Gunesekera takes an extract from David Copperfield as a starting point for an exploration of Dickens's writing about childhood and the move from childhood into adulthood, a theme which has been significant in his own writing.First broadcast in December 2011.

Five contemporary novelists examine the craft of Dickens's prose, and reflect on how the giant of British nineteenth-century fiction is both a role model and a shadow looming over their own writing. Taking as their starting point a favourite extract from one of Dickens's novels, each writer discuss Dickens's themes, narrative techniques and writing craft, and tells us what they themselves have learnt from it. They offer thoughtful, unusually engaged and focused critical appreciation of Dickens's skill, as well as valuable insights into their own work and how they themselves wrestle with the subject and technique under discussion. Beginning the series is Tessa Hadley, writing on Rooms and Reality. Taking as her starting point the description of the Clenham's house in Little Dorritt, she explores how Dickens paints the reality of his world through his characters' houses, and reflects on how significant houses are her own writing. Other writers in the series are A L Kennedy, Alexander McCall Smith, Romesh Gunesekera and Justin Cartwright.First broadcast in December 2011.

This month on World Book Club Harriett Gilbert will be talking with one of Sri Lanka’s leading writers, Romesh Gunesekera, about his acclaimed novel Reef. Reef is the moving, multi award-winning story of young Triton, a talented young chef who goes to work for Mister Salgado, a marine biologist obsessed by swamps, sea movements and the island's disappearing reef. So committed is Triton to pleasing his master’s palate that he is oblivious to the political unrest threatening his Sri Lankan paradise, and yet subtle undercurrents of impending doom do ripple through Triton’s haunting story of memory and friendship.