Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival Brings Romesh Gunasekera, Ashok Ferrey and Razeen Sally to London’s World Travel Market
The Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival’s London Edition was presented at World Travel Market on 4 November 2026. Photograph: Hiru News.
Sri Lankan writers and creative voices took centre stage in London as the Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival (CLAF) held its inaugural London Edition at World Travel Market (WTM) on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. Presented by Sri Lanka Tourism, the event invited international audiences to encounter the island through literature, ideas and conversation.
The London appearance brought together writers and cultural figures whose work spans history, fiction, humour and economics. It also connected Sri Lankan storytelling with an international gathering of travel professionals, offering a reminder that a place can be discovered not only through its landscapes and heritage, but also through the books, ideas and perspectives shaped by its people.
Literature as a meeting point
The Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival aims to establish an influential arts and culture platform for Sri Lanka while showcasing the island through its creative industries. As the festival prepares for its fourth edition, it is building on growing momentum and a commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for young people.
Its programme is organised around four pillars: literature, art, music and film. Enhancing Sri Lanka’s soft power and encouraging young people to participate in the creative industries are among CLAF’s key objectives.
An AI-generated editorial illustration representing the meeting of Sri Lankan literary heritage and international audiences. AI generated based on source image.
Holding a London Edition at WTM gave the festival an opportunity to introduce Sri Lankan stories in a setting where people from the global travel sector gather. Rather than presenting the country only as a destination, the programme foregrounded the writers and cultural perspectives through which audiences may form a deeper understanding of Sri Lanka.
Ajai Vir Singh, Founder of the Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival, said: “The London Edition is an important step as we expand our platform’s footprint beyond Sri Lanka, and it also strengthens Sri Lanka’s soft power. Bringing the festival to London alongside Sri Lanka Tourism is a key strategic goal in attracting the right travellers to the country. Arts and culture are an important medium for engaging a wider international audience.”
The remarks reflect the festival’s aim to use culture as a meaningful point of connection between Sri Lanka and the wider world. For readers in the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere, literature can offer a distinctive way to encounter the island’s history, contemporary life and diverse viewpoints, while also complementing the experience of those planning a visit.
A line-up across genres and perspectives
The London programme brought together five speakers with different literary and intellectual backgrounds. Shrabani Basu, author of Victoria & Abdul, joined the line-up; the book was adapted into a film starring Judi Dench. Booker-shortlisted novelist Romesh Gunasekera, novelist Louise Doughty, comic novelist Ashok Ferrey and economist Razeen Sally, author of Return to Sri Lanka, also took part.
Their work spans history, fiction, humour and economics, creating a programme designed to reach audiences with varied interests. The participation of Sri Lankan writers Gunasekera, Ferrey and Sally was particularly significant: their work and perspectives helped bring the island’s stories into an international conversation.
Fazeena Rajabdeen, Co-founder and Director of the Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival, said: “Culture is one of the most powerful ways a country can introduce itself. After four years of building a festival with Sri Lankan voices at its heart, we wanted to take those voices to the world, starting with London.”
Following a welcome address by Ajai Vir Singh, the afternoon’s programme featured three conversations. In “Sri Lanka through the Eyes of Others,” Romesh Gunasekera and Razeen Sally joined Ashok Ferrey, who served as moderator. “One Tear of Love” featured Louise Doughty and Ashok Ferrey, while “Tales from the Empire” saw Shrabani Basu in conversation with Ashok Ferrey.
The different sessions offered audiences several routes into storytelling and cultural discussion, from Sri Lanka’s place in the imagination of others to fiction, history and personal perspectives. The programme also demonstrated how a festival can bring different disciplines together without losing sight of the voices and experiences at its centre.
Looking ahead to Colombo in January 2027
The London Edition also introduced the Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival’s fourth edition, scheduled to take place in Colombo from 22 to 24 January 2027. Writers, artists, musicians and filmmakers from Sri Lanka and around the world are expected to come together across the festival’s four pillars, with young and emerging Sri Lankan creatives at its heart.
The full line-up, venues and ticketing details are to be announced in the coming weeks. The London presentation therefore served both as an international showcase for Sri Lankan writing and as an early introduction to the next Colombo festival.
For Sri Lankan literature readers, the London programme brought familiar local perspectives into dialogue with international work. For travel professionals and prospective visitors, it presented the island through its creative industries and the people shaping them. These approaches can enrich how audiences understand Sri Lanka, whether they encounter its stories in a book, at a festival or during a future visit.
The festival’s London Edition points to the potential of sustained cultural exchange: Sri Lankan writers and ideas gaining a wider audience, while young creatives are offered opportunities to connect with readers and industry beyond the island. For the global Sri Lankan community, it is a welcome occasion to see the country’s cultural voices represented on an international platform.
This article was written based on the source https://hirunews.lk/en/business/498439/ceylon-literary-and-arts-festival-takes-sri-lankan-stories-to-london, kindly email us at info@eLanka.com.au if any information needs to be corrected. The report was corroborated by Lanka Business News and the Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival.
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