Michael Mendis

We are delighted to say that Michael Mendis has joined us on the site as the Writer in Residence for February 2014. Michael is a writer whose work bridges fiction and non-fiction. As winner of the  (Asia Region), he has work published in Granta: his winning entry, . You can find most of his current writing at his blog, Ironing Undertaken, which is his preferred platform of publication.
With experience as a political journalist and a features writer, having worked for such Sri Lankan news outlets as Ceylon Today and Lakbima, Michael is reading law at the University of Colombo.
As Commonwealth Writers’ Writer in Residence, Michael’s intention is to spotlight Sri Lankan writing: particularly, the confluences of writing for self and writing for audience, and what that means for a writer located in a world that is not, at least predominantly, English-speaking. He hopes to discuss his inspirations and, relatedly, the propriety or foolhardiness – as the case may be – of writing for a cause.
Born in 1990, and educated at a Catholic boys’ school in Colombo, Michael is the fourth in a family of five children. He likes dogs, debating, and night-time Colombo.