Roshi Fernando

Roshi Fernando is an English writer of Sri Lankan origin. Her stories often depict Sri Lankan immigrants as characters and take place in both Sri Lanka and England.[1]

Roshi Fernando
NationalitySri Lankan
EducationWarwick University Swansea University
GenreShort story
SubjectLiterature
Notable worksHomesick,The Fluorescent Jacket
Notable awardsImpress Prize for New Writers

Life and work

Roshi Fernando was born and brought up in London by Sri Lankan parents, both of whom were teachers specialising in English and Education. Since Fernando was asthmatic as a child, she had to miss school often. But this did not stop her from learning. Her mother was able to bring her English literature to read which made the love of writing stronger later in her early adult life.[2] She was sexually abused by a family friend at the age of 11.[3] She did a BA in Philosophy and Literature at Warwick University, and a PhD in English and Creative Writing at Swansea University.[2] In 2009 she won the Impress Prize for New Writers for her Short story collection Homesick[4]

Her book Homesick (2012) is a series of linked short stories featuring a cast of characters tied to an extended Sri Lankan family of migrants and their Westernised children in southeast London in the 1980s.[5] It drew comparisons with Zadie Smith and Andrea Levy.[6] The collection includes "The Fluorescent Jacket", shortlisted for the 2011 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.[7] The whole collection was shortlisted for the 2011 Edge Hill Short Story Prize.[8] In 2012, BBC Radio 4 adapted five of Fernando's stories, including The Clangers, The Turtle and Test, as short radio plays.[9] These were repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2015.

References
  1. Navaratnam, Subashini (20 September 2012). "Home Is Where the Pain Is: Roshi Fernando's 'Homesick'". Pop Matters. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  2. Davies, Gwen. "Interview: Roshi Fernando". New Welsh Review. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  3. Fernando, Roshi (14 May 2013). "I suffered sexual abuse. I refuse to be ashamed any more". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  4. "Roshi Fernando wins Impress Prize for New Writers". Seren. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  5. Sanai, Leyla (10 April 2012). "Homesick, By Roshi Fernando". Independent. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  6. Angelini, Francesca (18 March 2012). "Homesick by Roshi Fernando". The Times. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  7. "Roshi Fernando: being on the Short Story Award shortlist changed my life as a writer". The Sunday Times Short Story Award. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  8. "Big names revealed in Edge Hill Short Story Prize". Edge Hill University. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  9. "Roshi Fernando - Homesick". BBC Online. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
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