Fairway Holdings, recently concluded its inaugural Fairway English Creative Writing Workshop at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies. The two-day workshop, intended primarily for young people aged 16 to 35, with a passion for creative writing, was held over the course of the third weekend in October, and attracted over 125 participants.
Fairway Holdings is a dynamic, fast growing conglomerate, with a primary interest in property development. In recent times, it has emerged as the animating force behind the internationally acclaimed Fairway Galle Literary Festival, held in January each year, as well as, the annual Fairway National Literary Awards ceremony, for creative writing in the novel format.
Even though the workshop was organized to address the scarcity of learning opportunities for emerging creative writers, Fairway Holdings was surprised by the overwhelming response to its call for applications. ‘We did not anticipate these numbers and it certainly augurs well for the future of English creative writing in Sri Lanka,’ said Fairway Group Deputy Chairman, Kavinda Dias-Abeyesinghe. Applications arrived from all parts of the island, including, Jaffna, Kandy, Galle, Negombo and Nuwara Eliya, from a diverse range of applicants, including, journalists, teachers, advertising executives, lawyers, undergraduates and students.
The workshop was conducted by a stellar resource panel of creative writers, academics and publishers, who amply fulfilled the given brief of providing competent instructions and informed guidance, to aspiring young creative writers. The basic format of the workshop comprised seven interactive, one and a half hour sessions, each led by a panelist, and including a presentation by the panelist and questions from participants.
Senior Professor of English, Colombo University and literary critic Neloufer de Mel gave an overview on the critical perspectives of good writing, while author and publisher,Ameena Hussein, writer Lal Madawattegedara, poet VivimarieVanderpoorten and actor and playwright ArunWelandawe-Prematillake, sought to un-bundle the creative process of writing short stories, novels, poems and plays. The well-known educationist, Jill Macdonald underscored the importance of proper editing prior to publication, and the celebrated journalist, editor, bookseller and publisher, Vijitha Yapa, provided insights into getting published and other commercial aspects of creative writing.
There was a lively interaction between the panelists and participants who displayed such a high level of interest and enthusiasm, that one panelist went so far as to say, “You could feel the energy in the room!” The feedback from participants was almost universally positive. “I learned a lot. I gained knowledge worth a lifetime,” said one participant, echoing the sentiments of most on the excellence of the resource panel, while another said, the workshop was, “‘Superbly organized and very well executed, thanks to Fairway, for the timely and well structured workshop”.
Fairway Holdings, as a socially responsible corporate organization, is committed to supporting culture and the arts in Sri Lanka, and hopes that the Fairway English Creative Writing Workshop would have inspired and encouraged the participants to excel in their literary careers.