Writer. THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS (2023, Nebula, Ignyte, Crawford, Locus awards) and RAKESFALL (2024, Le Guin Prize and Otherwise award) https://xitter.cf/t.co/J8htFVNAe0

Colombo
Joined February 2010
My third novel, HERO COME HOME, officially has a cover! It comes out 27.7.27 and is preorderable in the usual places. Cover art by Cokorda Martin!
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The full video of my conversation with @V_V_G about her stories in the context of the 'kadalodikal' collection. Use the CC button to turn on subtitles. youtu.be/7G3VbIpW3xQ
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Vajra Chandrasekera retweeted
Have ordered this book, awaiting with excitement. But yes, many Jews warned against what Zionism would bring with it, especially to Western Jews. They saw it as a form of expelling Jews from Europe's body politic.
🇮🇱🇺🇸 A Pulitzer winner says Zionism began as a Protestant fantasy a century before Herzl, and the Jews who warned it would bring endless war were branded self-hating... a new book brings them back from exile Palestine was 95 to 97% non-Jewish when the movement began, and one early leader's goal was to make it as Jewish as England is English, so Jewish critics called the project a catastrophe from day one. Benjamin Moser, whose grandfather fled Nazi Germany in 1938, says: "Zionism has nothing to do with the Holocaust. Zionism exploited the Holocaust." Benjamin says Hannah Arendt hinted at Zionist dealings with the Nazis in Eichmann in Jerusalem and was hounded so completely that the Jewish press barely marked her death. He argues a Star of David on every tank means the backlash to Israel's conduct puts all Jews in grave danger, which is why the anti-Zionist Jews he writes about are screaming themselves hoarse to say this is not us. @WeTheBrandon
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The banning of several of these books wasn't reported on at all (as far as I can tell) in either English or Sinhala-language media; the casual "standard"-ness of the practice is appalling
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Vajra Chandrasekera retweeted
'At Jaffna Customs office, books dealing with political subjects get singled out for scrutiny. The presence of words such as “war,” “military,” “gun,” “Tigers,” and “mass grave” is enough to detain a book.' - A joint appeal by the Eelam Tamil writers. kirishanth.com/?p=3925
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apparently the presence of these forbidden words is enough to—as far as the officials are concerned—ban the book, since their next step is asking the Ministry of Defense in Colombo for permission to release the book already knowing that the Ministry never grants it
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Vajra Chandrasekera retweeted
Customs said they don't have a list of confiscated books over the years when @ExaminerLK RTI'ed for them. There's effectively a set of banned books, but nobody knows for sure what they are.
Adding further to the list of censored Tamil books, on Thursday (22), Sri Lanka custom officials in Jaffna refused to release 30 copies of the Tamil novel "Thorai" by Pradeep Kunaradnam alias Yatharthan & informed the author to obtain a "permission from the Ministry of Defence".
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Vajra Chandrasekera retweeted
Adding further to the list of censored Tamil books, on Thursday (22), Sri Lanka custom officials in Jaffna refused to release 30 copies of the Tamil novel "Thorai" by Pradeep Kunaradnam alias Yatharthan & informed the author to obtain a "permission from the Ministry of Defence".
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Vajra Chandrasekera retweeted
If you ask anyone in Gaza if they know The Sameer Project, they will probably know us from our buses. Mostly because they’re the most visible but also a favorite for people as we are the only group providing this service. Contribute here: chuffed.org/project/113222-t… One of our buses transports kidney dialysis patients daily to Al Shifa Hospital and back to their homes. The Sameer Project bus takes two groups per day for kidney dialysis treatment. Your support to this project offers the opportunity to patients to get treatment because otherwise many wouldn’t be able to afford the transport, and wouldn’t be able to walk long distances. Never underestimate how far your donation can go. Give to our General Fund today: chuffed.org/project/113222-t… Other ways to donate include: paypal.me/mahertali (Paypal option, please make sure to add a message saying "GENERAL") account.venmo.com/u/Maher-Al… (Venmo option, please make sure to add a message saying "GENERAL")
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Vajra Chandrasekera retweeted
1. Let’s break down Minister Harshana Nanayakkara’s rebuttal of criticism of the Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill. Contrary to what the Minister says, the Bill does empower a police officer to arrest a person if the officer thinks a person’s style of dress
Can people be jailed under the proposed Organized Crime Prevention Bill for having tattoos or long hair? Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara clarifies the proposed law in Parliament, rejecting claims circulating on social media.
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Vajra Chandrasekera retweeted
The author is dead! (Crowd cheers) But the author function lives on (crowd boos) Rather than attributing the text to a single origin point, we as critics must map the complex web of institutions and power relations that constitute "authorship" (crowd yawns, disperses)
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Vajra Chandrasekera retweeted
I was shortlisted for a prize that really helped my career. Years later, a winning story faced AI accusations because of Pangram. Writing like mine was derided as following "postcolonial formula" so I examined all the winning stories
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