The English Writers Collective of Sri Lanka has launched Channels 2026, the latest edition of its annual anthology of short stories, poetry and essays by established and emerging Sri Lankan writers, EconomyNext reported.
Founded more than three decades ago to provide a platform for creative writing in English, the collective fills each volume largely from the winners, short lists and long lists of its annual competition.
“The EWC has always championed the power of original storytelling,” Chairperson Keerthi Wijekulasuriya said. “Our annual competition continues to uncover an incredible depth of raw talent across the island.”
The winners
| Category | Placing | Writer |
|---|---|---|
| Prose | First | Moh Afdhaal |
| Joint second | Venessa Andrea Nugara, Shawn Mark Ramoo | |
| Joint third | Maryam Ismath Hussain, Priyanka Holsinger | |
| Poetry | First | Sureshika Piyasena |
| Joint second | Sukanti Iyne Husain, Michelle Angelina | |
| Third | Fathima Bushra Abdul Mannan |
Winners received cash prizes. Prose was judged by Sakuntala Sachithanandan and M T L Ebell, poetry by Nelani Goonawardena and Himangi Jayasundere.
Judged blind
The first round was conducted completely blind, with each judge scoring every submission separately against agreed criteria to produce the long lists. Long-listed writers were then given feedback on how to improve their work before the short lists and winners were decided.
Chief guest Vivimarie VanderPoorten described the collective as “infrastructure for courage,” adding that Channels “has, for decades, been one of the few spaces where a very young writer and a very established one can appear on facing pages, as equals, because the only qualification for being there is that you wrote something true.”
Co-editors Pia Hatch and Darika Ellawala called the volume “an eclectic tapestry of voices, styles, and themes.”
Channels 2026 is on sale at Perera Hussein Publishing House’s stand at the Colombo International Book Fair, at Vijitha Yapa Bookshop on 5th Lane, at The Jam Fruit Tree Publications, and at Kalaya in Pelawatte.
Not reported
EconomyNext does not give the launch venue or date, the number of submissions received, the size of the cash prizes, or the anthology’s cover price.
