Carmel Miranda

Carmel Miranda is a Sri Lankan writer, novelist and doctor. She won the Gratiaen Prize for her work Crossmatch (2020).

Biography

She was regarded as bookworm since her early childhood, as she displayed her keen interest as an avid reader by reading books written by Enid Blyton. She also pursued a keen interest in reading comics, including The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix. She also developed a firm interest on the literary works of Agatha Christie.

Career

She attended the St. Bridget’s Convent for her primary and secondary education. She pursued her higher education by enrolling at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Colombo. She studied to become a doctor and after gaining employment as a qualified doctor, she rendered her services at Anuradhapura and Colombo. She then eventually pursued her postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom. Carmel also maintained a rigid work schedule on a rotation basis in West Asia for some time. She also propelled her career prospects as a freelance anaesthetist for a considerable period of time.

Her debut novel, Crossmatch, received praise and critical acclaim, for which it received the Gratiaen Prize in 2020. She was inspired to author the novel Crossmatch after reading one of Daphne du Maurier’s bestseller novels Rebecca. Miranda revealed that her tacit knowledge and expertise in the medical field helped her to execute the storyline for her novel Crossmatch. She spent around three years prior to the publishing of her novel Crossmatch, and she had ample time to finish the novel due to the advent of the COVID-19 induced lockdowns imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Crossmatch also won the State Literary Award for Best English Novel for year 2021.