When she attended the award ceremony, there was one thing she was certain about: she will not be the winner. She enlightened her parents and friends why they should not bother coming all the way to Galle to attend the Fairway Literary Awards ceremony.
Although her book was among the shortlisted works, Amanda Jay was not fully confident that her book would be the chosen one.
“The other shortlisted books were so well written that I didn’t think I had a chance. The judges announced the runners-up first, along with feedback on their individual novels, so it was about midway through the feedback for the book that came second that I realised that there were no more books left, just mine!”
Personal struggles
The whole experience was completely unbelievable to her and still is. And more than the award itself, the comments made by the judges, delivered by Dr Ranjini Obeysekera, is what meant so much to her, and really blew her mind. The judges for the English language category were Dr Ranjani Obeyesekere, an academic, literary critic and translator in the fields of literature, and theatre and performance, Jolly Somasundaram, a retired civil servant, writer, playwright, and film and literary critic, and Arun Welandawe–Prematilleke, an actor, playwright, director and specialist in immersive theatre.
Amanda’s novel, The Other One, is set in a make-believe clockwork city, by the name of Mliss. It moves between three characters with their own demons and personal struggles. These three characters are thrown together in order to solve a murder which directly affects them. The story focuses both on world-building, as well as the emotional struggles that these characters go through.
Amanda read International Relations with a minor in Sociology for her BA. She completed her Masters in Business and Organisational Psychology only recently.
“This is my first time writing creatively for the public. I haven’t received any academic training in writing. When I’m not writing, I work on my businesses.”
Corporate training
She owns the Brick Lane Cookie Company while being a director of Save Your Monkey, an online insurance start-up launched last year. She also conducts corporate training on Communication Skills Development.
“I feel the scope of Sri Lankan English literature has grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years. Since I released my book, I’ve been lucky to get in touch with a number of writers just like me— who are experimenting with different subjects and different genres. The platforms to release and market books have changed as well. More writers are self-publishing, releasing ebooks, and using social media as a form of promotion.”
Amanda first released her book on Amazon’s Kindle Store as an ebook — an option which would not have been available a few years ago. Along with the increase in writers, there is also a growing demand for editors, publishers and other services, she believes. Amanda is hopeful that this will positively impact the industry and the arts as a whole.
Market attention
English writers are relatively fewer in Sri Lanka due to the poor market attention. But is it the only reason? Amanda does not accredit it to the poor market attention. She rather links it with basic demography. English is often spoken as a second or third language in Sri Lanka. It’s only to be expected that people would write in the language they are most comfortable with.
“I’ve always loved to write, sometimes to make sense of the world around me, but mostly to try and understand myself. Writing has forced me to take a deeper look at people, and why they are the way they are. It’s really helped me develop a greater sense of empathy, and also given a release for my own internal struggles,”
Amanda is inspired by the most random things. She admits herself to be a people watcher, often whiling away at cafes and other public places. Watching the people in their own little worlds, wondering what their struggles are, or what makes them happy.
“I also get very inspired by music, which I call “the soundtrack effect.” I hear a song, and the tune sets the tone for a scene in my head. It sounds corny, but a lot of my action chapters especially are written this way.”
Amanda is an avid reader, not confined to a particular genre. She reads pretty much everything except romance.
Ideal platform
“I also try to read outside my comfort zone as much as possible, trying to give attention to lesser known and foreign writers. If I had to pick a favourite genre, I think I would be torn between mysteries and fantasy. Books that combine strong plots (I’m a sucker for a good plot twist) and relatable, flawed characters are typically what I enjoy the most.”
Literary awards are a really good platform for written work to gain some appreciation, Amanda opines. Especially being a first time writer, the award has given her immense credibility. Until the Fairway National Literary Award, she had no sound idea about her own book.
“That was despite reassurances from friends and family. But then they are always nice, right? I also really hope that I am able to encourage other first time writers to step forward and showcase their work.”
Tom (An excerpt from The Other One)
The sun was dipping low into the dusty horizon of the clockwork city when Tom’s heart began to soar. He knew it wouldn’t do to get too excited but after what felt like hours, his wait was finally over. From his vantage point he could see the man move away from the window. In five more minutes, the man would move to the back of the building and then Tom’s coast would be clear.
Five more minutes. He could wait five more minutes. It won’t do any good to rush now, he reminded himself. Tom took a moment to look out over his city. The only one he had ever known. The orange pink glow of the sunset almost blurred out the greys and browns and rusts of the rundown buildings, machinery, dirt, and soot. Almost, but not quite. No one could deny it, Mliss was one ugly place. But that wasn’t the point, really. It was a city that kept ticking on and that was what made all the difference. The cogs and pegs kept turning despite the rust and grime and the cables that zig zagged over the darkening sky kept moving, no matter what.
Tom dangled his legs over the ledge he sat on, watching. He stole a quick glance over to the Eyes. Three minutes left now. Time could be really irritating when you wanted it to speed up. High up over the rusted machinery, he inhaled deeply, wondering if he should go through with it.
But he laughed to himself a little, already knowing the answer even before he finished asking himself the question. On a normal day, he would be heading down to the Underbelly to try and score himself some dinner. He wondered what the Stew Pot was serving up today. Nothing good, he reckoned. No one ever knew what the surly cook with the gash across his chin put in his stew. It was probably rats, it had to be, Tom thought. It was the only type of meat you could find in the Underbelly.
In any case, today wasn’t a day to worry about what type of rodent he might be eating. Today was a special day; he needed something special to prove it.
The Fairway National Literary Award is the only competition of its kind that accommodates all three main languages of Sri Lanka. The panels of judges selected a total of 13 novels for the shortlists – five from the Sinhala language category and four each from the English and Tamil language categories. Each shortlisted novelist in each language category received a cash prize of Rs.100,000, while the eventual winner of each language category received a cash prize of Rs.500,000.
The shortlisted novels in the English language category -
‘Dutugemunu: Prince of Destiny’ by Rukmani Samaranayake,
‘Song of the Sun God’ by Shankari Chandran,
‘Wrath of Kali: The Dark Side of God’ by Mario Perera
‘The Other One’ by Amanda Jay.
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