Guy Gunaratne
Guy Gunaratne is a British journalist, filmmaker and novelist.
In 2019, their first novel, In Our Mad and Furious City, won the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Jhalak Prize and the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award. He is based between London, England, and Malmö, Sweden.
Early life and education
Gunaratne was born and grew up in Neasden, north-west London, England. His father had migrated from Sri Lanka in 1951. Gunaratne studied for a film and television degree at Brunel University London, then studied current affairs journalism at City, University of London.Career
With fellow student and girlfriend, Heidi Lindvall, Gunaratne set up a film production company. They made a film about the suppression of the media in Sri Lanka a week after the civil war there ended, the success of which allowed them to work in television. Though based in London, the couple followed their work in post-conflict areas around the world, living in several places, including Berlin, Germany.During this period of making work for television, Gunaratne wrote their first novel, In Our Mad and Furious City. Its story is set in and around a north-west London council estate, in the 48 hours following a killing reminiscent of the 2013 murder of Lee Rigby. It is narrated by five main characters in turn, in first-person voices. In Our Mad and Furious City deals with "questions about Britain’s divided society and capturing the nuances of urban life".
As of 2019, they are based between London and Malmö, Sweden.
Gunaratne was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2024.