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Vajra Chandrasekera

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Vajra Chandrasekera
Chandrasekera, 2023
Chandrasekera, 2023
Born (1979-08-17) August 17, 1979 (age 46)
Colombo Sri Lanka
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
Genrefantasy novel, short story, short story, poetry
Notable awards
Website
vajra.me

Vajra Chandrasekera is a Sri Lankan author known for his fantasy and science fictionshort stories and novels. His debut novel, The Saint of Bright Doors, won the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel.

Life

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Chandrasekera was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His father was a writer.[1] His first job at the age of eighteen was "writing fake product reviews of computer hardware." He later became a non-fiction editor in Sri Lanka.[1]

Career

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In 2012, he published the poem "Jörmungandr" in Ideomancer. He followed this with the 2013 short stories "Pockets Full of Stones" in Clarkesworld Magazine and "The Jackal's Wedding" for Apex Magazine.[1][2]

In 2023, Chandrasekera published his first novel, The Saint of Bright Doors.[3] Amal El-Mohtar, in a review for The New York Times, described the novel as the best book of the year.[4] Jake Casella Brookins, for Locus, described the book as "truly superb" with rich cityscape details and deep investigations of the writing of history and the desire for revolution.[5] Both reviewers noted the novel's stretching of the fantasy genre.[4][5] Publishers Weekly described the book as "lyrical but sluggish."[6]

In 2024, Chandrasekera published the novel Rakesfall.[3] It focuses on the reincarnations of Annelid and Leveret through a set of tales in a mixture of perspectives, genres, and plotlines. The book begins with the friends' youth during the fallout of the Sri Lankan civil war.[7] Madeline Schultz, for the Chicago Review of Books, praised the book's unique exploration of colonialism and imperialism, but critiqued the descriptions and disorientation between episodes.[8] New York Times and Publishers Weekly reviews noted the book's challenge and payoff, with Publishers Weekly praising the book's lyricism.[3][7] Ian Mond, for Locus, said the book's many sections could leave a reader "bewildered," but the ideas and exploration of Sri Lankan colonial history compelled readers forward.[9] Helena Ramsaroop, for Strange Horizons, wrote that Rakesfall compellingly shows grief and hope in the pursuit of liberation.[10]

Chandrasekera has placed himself in the New Wave, New Weird, and slipstream literary movements, as well as the blended-genre term science fantasy.[2][11]

Awards

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Chandrasekera's novel The Saint of Bright Doors won the Nebula Award for Best Novel of 2023,[12] the 2024 Crawford Award,[13] and the 2024 Ignyte Award for Outstanding Adult Novel.[14] It was a finalist for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel.[15]

Chandrasekera's was an editor for Strange Horizons during the six consecutive years that it was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine.[1]

His novel Rakesfall was a winner of the 2024 Otherwise Award[16] and the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize.[17] It was nominated for the 2024 Nebula Award for Best Novel[18] and 2025 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Chandrasekera, Vajra (June 2023). "Decades of Aspiration: A Conversation with Vajra Chandrasekera". Clarkesworld Magazine (Interview). No. 201. Interviewed by Arley Sorg.
  2. ^ a b Myman, Francesca (2024-12-09). "Vajra Chandrasekera: The Mythic and the Modern". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  3. ^ a b c El-Mohtar, Amal (2024-08-21). "New Speculative Fiction About the Villainous Power of Universities". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  4. ^ a b El-Mohtar, Amal (2023-12-01). "What's Behind That Door?". New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  5. ^ a b Casella Brookins, Jake (2023-10-11). "Jake Casella Brookins Reviews The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  6. ^ "The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  7. ^ a b "Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  8. ^ Schultz, Madeline (2024-07-01). "Whirlwind Exploration in 'Rakesfall'". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  9. ^ Mond, Ian (2024-07-10). "Ian Mond Reviews Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  10. ^ Ramsaroop, Helena (2025-02-17). "Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  11. ^ Grifka Wander, Misha (19 June 2024). "At the Periphery of the Grand Narrative: Vajra Chandrasekera on Rakesfall". Ancillary Review of Books. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Vajra Chandrasekera |". Nebula Awards. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  13. ^ "Chandrasekera Wins Crawford". Locus. March 4, 2024.
  14. ^ "2024 Ignyte Award Winners". Locus. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  15. ^ "2024 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Award. 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  16. ^ Hartman, Jed (2025-05-06). "Announcing the 2024 Otherwise Award winners!". Otherwise Award. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  17. ^ "Vajra Chandrasekera has won the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction". Literary Hub. 2025-10-21. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  18. ^ "Rakesfall". Nebula Awards. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  19. ^ "2025 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2025-06-21. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
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