Vajra Chandrasekera

Vajra Chandrasekera
Chandrasekera, 2023
Born (1979-08-17) August 17, 1979
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 fiction short stories and novels. His debut novel, The Saint of Bright Doors, won the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel.

Life

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

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

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

  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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