Shehan Karunatilaka
Shehan Karunatilaka won the Booker Prize in 2022 for his novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. His first novel Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew won the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize. He has also written short stories, children’s books, rock songs, screenplays, and travel journalism. His writing has been translated into 36 languages. Born in Galle, Sri Lanka, in 1975, Shehan grew up in Colombo and moved to Aotearoa New Zealand at 15, attending high school in Whanganui and later studying at Massey University. He has since lived and worked in London, Amsterdam, and Singapore, and is currently Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury.
2026 festival sessions
An Hour with Booker Winner Shehan Karunatilaka
Shehan Karunatilaka in conversation with Jane Forrest Waghorn
11.30am-12.30pm, Sunday 26 July, Whitehaven Theatre Marlborough, $25
Shehan Karunatilaka discusses his Booker Prize–winning novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, set during Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war. Praised by the Booker Prize judges for its “scope” and “hilarious audacity”, the novel follows the ghost of a news photographer given seven days to solve his own murder and make peace with those he loved. Shehan’s wit and superlative storytelling provides a compelling immersive reading experience about a devastating conflict with ongoing effects. Shehan discusses the novel and the power of literature to help us discuss horrors of the past. He also reflects on his life, from growing up in war-torn Sri Lanka to his teenage years here in Aotearoa, and a career that has spanned advertising, travel writing, music, and children’s books. Shehan is insightful, witty, and thought-provoking, don’t miss this rare chance to hear from a Booker Prize winner right here in Blenheim.
Buy Tickets Here