Read the work of 2023 Miles Franklin winner Shankari Chandran
Read some of the 2023 Miles Franklin winner’s brilliant work here.
Sri Lankan Australian writer Shankari Chandran has won the 2023 Miles Franklin award for her novel Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens (Ultimo Press) about the immigrant experience and the beauty and brutality of her ancestral homeland.
Chandran, a mother of four and former human rights lawyer who grew up in Canberra and now lives in Sydney, has been a valuable contributor to several literary projects with The Australian. You can sample her work here.
Oh Matilda, Who Bloody Killed Her
Ambitious newshound Becky Cummerbund is chasing the story of what happened to ingenue Matilda Meadows for Celebrity Central, and she’s got the whiff of blood. Or is it fear? Chandran took the lead in Chapter 12 of The Australian’s hit progressive novel, Oh Matilda, Who Bloody Killed Her? — a rollicking summer read, a collaboration, written one chapter each, by a diverse field of Australia’s best authors, that has become a popular staple over the long Christmas break.
“Given the calibre of the other contributors, I was really excited but mildly nauseous at the prospect of embarrassing myself on a national platform, Chandran said.
She ended up loving it.
“I wanted to write something that was connected to and consistent with the previous contributions. But the potential to take the story in any direction I wanted was really liberating.”
A cracking good recipe
“This is my favourite meal in the whole world,” wrote Chandran for our 2023 summer cookbook - a collection of recipes shared by top Australian writers. “In particular, Sri Lankan omelette is my go-to comfort food. I can make it quickly and eat it three times a day.”
Lonely Gully
If only poor Herbie Bongmire could have remained oblivious. Even his worst nightmare was preferable to the dire circumstances he now finds himself in...
Chandran took up the story at Chaper 14 of The Australian’s 2021 summer novel Lonely Gully, Each author had just three days to write their chapter, with complete freedom over story and style; it’s fast, fun and very funny. Tune in over the summer to see how the story unfolds.
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