Dr. Praneeth Abhayasundara of the Department of Sociology, Mr. Vihanga Perera of the Department of English and Prof. Walter Marasinghe an academic who was previously a part of the university were awarded at the State Literary Awards 2016.
Prof. Abhayasundara was recognized for his lyrical collection, “Sinhalayaku Wee Ipadeemen” (සිංහලයෙකු වී ඉපදීමෙන්) while Mr. Perera was awarded for his collection of Poetry, “Love and Protest”. Prof. Marasinghe meanwhile was accredited for his translation “Swapnawaasa Wadantha” (ස්වප්නවාස වදත්ත)
The 59th State Literary Awards Ceremony 2016, jointly organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs and the State Advisory Board of Literature on the direction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, North-Western Development and Cultural Affairs; is an occasion granting due accolade to the literati who contribute towards the enrichment of the field of literature in Sri Lanka with their creations. It was held on 8th September 2016 at the BMICH under the aegis of H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena.
Awards were presented for the best novel, short stories collection, poetry collection, lyrics collection, drama work, youth literature, children’s story book, translation work, science fiction, classical works on varied subjects and research work published in all three languages i.e in Sinhala, Tamil and English in the year 2015.