The English Writers Collective of Sri Lanka Celebrates Contemporary Creative Talent

The English Writers Collective of Sri Lanka (EWC) is proud to announce the official launch of Channels 2026, the latest edition of its highly anticipated annual anthology of short stories, poetry and essays by established and emerging Sri Lankan writers.

Founded over three decades ago to foster, encourage, and provide a platform for creative writing in English, the EWC has historically served as a critical stepping stone for writers. Through its annual publication - Channels, the collective continues its rich legacy of capturing the diverse, evolving perspectives of Sri Lankan writers, bringing fresh talent to the forefront of the nation's literary landscape.

The edition showcases remarkable creative talent discovered through the EWC’s annual creative writing competition. Reflecting on the success of this year competition, Chairperson Keerthi Wijekulasuriya remarked, "The EWC has always championed the power of original storytelling. Our annual competition continues to uncover an incredible depth of raw talent across the island, and we are thrilled to reward these brilliant minds and offer them the wide readership they truly deserve."

This year’s panel of judges were, for Prose, Sakuntala Sachithanandan and M.T.L.Ebell, and Nelani Goonawardena and Himangi Jayasundere judged the Poetry category. Participants’ submissions were taken through a rigorous judging process, the initial phase that led to the long lists was done completely ‘blind’ with each judge scoring every submission separately based on agreed upon criteria. Where relevant, the long-listed writers were then given feedback on how to improve or elevate their work, after which the short lists were determined, and the winners chosen.

The winners of the competition were revealed during the launch ceremony and received well-deserved cash prizes for their outstanding contributions. First Prize for Prose went to Moh Afdhaal, while Sureshika Piyasena received the first prize in the Poetry category. Venessa Andrea Nugara and Shawn Mark Ramoo were joint second place winners for Prose, while Maryam Ismath Hussain and Priyanka Holsinger took joint third place. Second place for poetry was a tie between Sukanti Iyne Husain and Michelle Angelina, with Fathima Bushra Abdul Mannan in third place.

Chief Guest at the event, Dr Vivimarie VanderPoorten addressed the gathering, offering of wisdom and motivation, “You do not know, right now, which line you wrote, which poem you sent, which brave and slightly terrifying act of putting your private thoughts into a public envelope, is going to be the one that someone remembers twenty years from now. You do not know who is reading. You do not know whose life you are about to change, possibly including your own… This is what an organisation like the English Writers' Collective does, and has done for a very long time now. It is easy, from the outside, to think of a writers' collective as simply a magazine, a competition, a prize-giving morning like this one. But what it actually is, is infrastructure for courage…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”.

Demonstrating the collective's commitment to nurturing literary potential, all of the winners, alongside the talented writers who made the prestigious short lists and long lists, have been proudly published within the pages of Channels 2026.

Co-editors Pia Hatch and Darika Ellawala shared their excitement for the new volume "Editing Channels 2026 has been a challenging and deeply inspiring journey. We are delighted to have been able to give so many new writers a chance to see their work in print, and are also proud of the members of the EWC who put their work through an intense peer review process to ensure that Channels represents our best work.  This volume is an eclectic tapestry of voices, styles, and themes that reflects the true vitality of contemporary Sri Lankan writing”.

For avid readers and literary enthusiasts looking to secure a copy, Channels 2026 will be available for purchase at Perera Hussein Publishing House at the Colombo International Book Fair, at Vijitha Yapa Bookshop on 5th Lane, The Jam Fruit Tree Publications, and Kalaya in Pelawatte.