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Brannavan Gnanalingam

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Brannavan Gnanalingam
Born20 October 1983
Sri Lanka
CitizenshipNew Zealand
Occupation(s)Author, Lawyer

Brannavan Gnanalingam (born 20 October 1983, Sri Lanka)[1] is a New Zealand author and practicing lawyer with the New Zealand firm Buddle Findlay at its Wellington office.[2]

Biography

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Gnanalingam was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Lower Hutt. His debut novel Getting Under Sail was published by Lawrence and Gibson in 2011.[3][4] The novel was based on a trip Gnanalingam undertook with two friends from Morocco to Ghana, which included being mistakenly detained for the French tourist killings in Mauritania.[5] The book was praised for "the narrator’s wry honesty, miles away from the usual Africa travelogue clichés".[6] In 2013 his second novel You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here was published and received positive reviews in New Zealand.[7][8] The book follows a trip by a middle-aged woman to Paris, who instead of finding it the city of love, experiences it as a cold and disorienting place. The book was based on Gnanalingam's time spent in Paris between 2012 and 2013.[9][10] His third novel, Credit in the Straight World (2015), his first set in New Zealand,[11] is "a satirical account of the global financial crisis" described by the New Zealand Herald as a "tale of surreal humour and genuine insight".[12] His fourth novel, A Briefcase, Two Pies and a Penthouse (2016), was longlisted for the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards novel of the year.[13]

His fifth novel published in 2017, Sodden Downstream, was shortlisted for the 2018 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards novel of the year with The Spinoff books editor Steve Braunias noting that his inclusion was "a particularly good call."[14] In a review of the book The Pantograph Punch said, "His rendition of Kiwi idiom is some of the best you’ll read."[15] Gnanalingam confessed to The Dominion Post, talking about Sodden Downstream, "...[T]here are so few Sri Lankan characters in New Zealand literature. I wanted to reflect that....It's...based on the fact that the Sri Lankan Civil War was something that my family and I went through, so I can write from personal experience."[16]

His 2020 novel, Sprigs, won the 2021 Best Novel prize at the Ngaio Marsh Awards[17] and was shortlisted for the 2021 Fiction award at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.[18] The Guardian described Sprigs as "an incendiary novel" and "an important examination of racism, violence and toxic masculinity that everyone should read".[19]

In 2022, Gnanalingam latest novel, Slow Down, You're Here, was released. The book was described as a horror novel, received critical praise[20][21] and was listed as one of the best books of the year by The Spinoff.[22]

From 2006–2016, Gnanalingam contributed to the online publication The Lumière Reader,[23][24] which is now on hiatus.[25] He covered film festivals such as Venice, Berlin, Rotterdam, and Cannes when writing for this publication.[9] He has also written for The Spinoff,[1] The New Zealand Listener, the New Zealand Herald[26] and The Dominion Post.[27] As of 2024 he was a contributing editor for Wellington-based Lawrence & Gibson publishing collective.[28]

Select publications

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  • Slow Down, You're Here (Wellington: Lawrence & Gibson, 2022) ISBN 978-0-473-61732-5
  • Sprigs (Wellington: Lawrence & Gibson, 2020). ISBN 9780473526382
  • Sodden Downstream (Wellington: Lawrence & Gibson, 2017). ISBN 9780473410292
  • A Briefcase, Two Pies and a Penthouse (Wellington: Lawrence & Gibson, 2016). ISBN 9780473356347
  • Credit in the Straight World (Wellington: Lawrence & Gibson, 2015). ISBN 9780473319106
  • You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here (Wellington: Lawrence & Gibson, 2013). ISBN 9780473257187
  • Getting Under Sail (Wellington: Lawrence & Gibson, 2011). ISBN 9780473184674

References

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  1. ^ a b "Brannavan Gnanalingam". The Spinoff. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  2. ^ "BUDDLEFINDLAY – Brannavan Gnanalingam". www.buddlefindlay.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  3. ^ Burgess, Malcolm (11 May 2011). "Small and Cheekily Formed". Dominion Post. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  4. ^ Dalgleish, Jodie (1 October 2011). "Generation Xperimental". Landfall Review Online. 2011 – via Landfall.
  5. ^ Gnanalingam, Brannavan (2011) 'Mali and Me' NZ Listener http://www.listener.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/mali-and-me/
  6. ^ Finnermore, Sam (2011) 'Privatising Parts by Richard Meros and Getting Under Sail by Brannavan Gnanalingam review' [Listener] http://www.listener.co.nz/culture/books/privatising-parts-by-richard-meros-and-getting-under-sail-by-brannavan-gnanalingam-review/
  7. ^ Dennerstein, Natasha (2014) 'Book review: You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here, by Brannavan Gnanalingam' NZ Listener 30 January. http://www.listener.co.nz/culture/books/book-review-you-should-have-come-here-when-you-were-not-here-by-brannavan-gnanalingam/ Archived 2014-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Treloar, Abbie (2013) Review BooksellersNZ https://booksellersnz.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/book-review-you-should-have-come-when-you-were-not-here-by-brannavan-gnanalingam/
  9. ^ a b "Conversations: Novel Beginnings | The Lumière Reader". Lumiere.net.nz. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Author Brannavan Gnanalingam". 25 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Credit in the Straight World interview with Brannavan Gnanalingam". Lawrence and Gibson. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  12. ^ Pattison, Ngaire Atmore (12 July 2015). "Books: Recent releases July 12". NZ Herald. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  13. ^ 'Ockham 2017 Book Awards long-list revealed' Stuff http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/86710998/2017-ockham-nz-book-awards-longlist-revealed
  14. ^ Braunias, Steve (2018) 'Diana, Brannavan, and the others: announcing the 2018 Ockham national book awards shortlist' https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/06-03-2018/diana-brannavan-and-the-others-announcing-the-2018-ockham-national-book-awards-shortlist/
  15. ^ Lloyd, Therese (2017) 'Kindness of Strangers: A review of Sodden Downstream' http://pantograph-punch.com/post/sodden-downstream
  16. ^ The Dominion Post (4 November 2017). "Minority Report". pressreader. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Ngaio Marsh Awards 2021 – winners of New Zealand's top crime fiction awards announced | Crime Fiction Lover". crimefictionlover.com. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  18. ^ Woulfe, Catherine (3 March 2021). "Ockham NZ Book Awards shortlist, 2021: the brutal cull, revealed – plus, our pick for the win". The Spinoff. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Short stories leave authors nowhere to hide. But Ockham winner Beautrais nails it every time". The Guardian. 12 May 2021. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  20. ^ Mabey, Claire (24 May 2022). "A review of Onehunga horror story Slow Down, You're Here". The Spinoff. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Book review: Slow Down, You're Here by Brannavan Gnanalingam". RNZ. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  22. ^ Books, The Spinoff Review of (19 December 2022). "The great, late Christmas books guide 2022". The Spinoff. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  23. ^ "Brannavan Gnanalingam | Authors | The Lumière Reader". Lumiere.net.nz. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Brannavan Gnanalingam". Pantograph Punch. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  25. ^ "The Lumière Reader". The Lumière Reader. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  26. ^ "Judgments based on skin and heritage has nothing, and everything, to do with you". NZ Herald. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Brannavan Gnanalingam | WORD Christchurch". wordchristchurch.co.nz. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  28. ^ Catherall, Sarah (5 August 2022). "Inventing a new name helped author Murdoch Stephens with writer's block". Stuff. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
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