Twitter Q&A with Lalith Weeratunga

FRIDAY, 14 JUNE 2013 

Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa will answer questions on a Twitter Q&A on Wednesday (19) at 2.30 pm to 4 pm (SL time), the President's office said.

The chat will take place via the official Twitter account of President Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa). Public can submit their questions with #AskLW. www.twitter.com/PresRajapaksa

Rushdie wins Denmark's Andersen prize

Thursday, June 13, 2013 » 04:13pm

British author Salman Rushdie was named the recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award.

British author Salman Rushdie was named the recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award, officials in the Danish city of Odense said.

Rushdie was 'an incomparable author, who through a blend of global realism and fairytale fantasy depicts the significance of journeys and cultural meetings for our time, and thus enriches world literature,' the jury said on Wednesday.

Odense is the hometown of Andersen, who wrote memorable children's tales - The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New Clothes - between 1805 and 1875.

The jury said Rushdie shared 'Andersen's love of the narrative art of the fairytale.'

The award ceremony will be held on August 17, 2014.

The award, worth 500,000 kroner ($A94,175), is the biggest in Denmark and given to writers whose works most closely resemble Andersen's writing. The last recipient was Chilean writer Isabel Allende, author of The House of the Spirits.

Rushdie's 1988 novel, The Satanic Verses, triggered controversy and he was forced into hiding for 10 years after Iran's then-leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death edict the following year.

The events were depicted in Rushdie's memoir, Joseph Anton, that was published last year. His breakthrough was with Midnight's Children in 1981. Rushdie has also written children's books, his first was Haroun and the Sea of Stories.