Sybil Wettasinghe
Sybil Wettasinghe was a children's book writer and an illustrator in Sri Lanka. Considered as the doyen of children’s literature in Sri Lanka, Wettasinghe has produced more than 200 children's books which have been translated into several languages. Two of her best known works are "Child In Me" and "Eternally Yours".
Personal life
Sybil Wettasinghe was born on 31 October 1927, the second of five siblings. She spent the first six years of her childhood in the village of Gintota in suburban Galle, where she started the primary education from Ginthota Buddhist School. Her family then moved to Colombo where she entered the Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya at the age of 6. Her grandfather was a sculptor. Her father was a building contractor and mother was an artist with lace-making.In 1955, she married Don Dharmapala Wettasinghe, the Chief Editor of Lakehouse News; the couple had three children and five grandchildren.
Early career
Aged 17, Wettasinghe joined Lankadeepa newspaper. In 1945, her father sent some drawings of Sybil to an exhibition at the Art Gallery. The Headmaster of Royal Primary, Mr H. D. Sugathapala, saw them and asked her to illustrate his ‘Nava Maga Standard 5 Reader’. In 1952, Wettasinghe moved to the much-coveted Lakehouse publications where she became the main illustrator of the Janatha newspaper and became the first Sri Lankan woman to work full-time as a journalist. Her entry into Lake House gave access to an entire network of newspapers and she wrote and illustrated for the Sunday Observer, Silumina, Daily News and Sarasaviya.Author works
In 1952, while working at the Janatha newspaper, Wettasinghe made her first attempt to write stories. She produced a narrative called Kuda Hora for the children's page of the newspaper in 1952. This story eventually developed into a book that won critical acclaim both locally and internationally. Inspired by the success of Kuda Hora, Wettasinghe applied herself to writing as well as illustrating and proceeded to produce over 200 children's books over the course of her career.Many of her works have been translated into languages such as Japanese, Chinese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Korean, Dutch and Tamil.
| Year | Book | Languages |
| 1994 | Hoity the Fox | Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Norwegian, Chinese, Sinhala and English |
| 1970 | Little Granny | Tamil, Sinhala and English |
| 2009 | Poddi and Podda | Japanese and Sinhala |
| 1986 | Thambaya Takes a Ride | Sinhala, Tamil & English |
| 1960 | Sooththara Puncha | Sinhala |
| 1999 | Run away Beard | Sinhala, Japanese, Tamil and English |
| 1994 | Strange Visitors to the Cat Country | Japanese, English, Tamil and Sinhala |
| 1965 | Wesak Lantern | English, Tamil and Sinhala |
| 2009 | Eternally Yours | English, Sinhala and Tamil |
| 2009 | Dura Gamanak | Sinhala |
| 2000 | Little Red Car | English, Sinhala and Tamil |
| 2010 | Monster in the Well | English and Sinhala |
| 1995 | Child in Me | Dutch, English, Sinhala, Tamil and recently in Japanese |
| 1970 | Magul Gedara Bath Natho | Sinhala |
| 1956 | The Umbrella Thief | Japanese, Chinese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Korean, Sinhala and Tamil |
Awards
During her career, Wettasinghe has won much international acclaim and her children's stories secured awards both in Europe and Asia. In 1965, her story 'Vesak Lantern' won an Isabel Hutton Prize for Asian Women writers for Children. Her first book 'Kuda Hora' was chosen for the Best Foreign Book Award in Japan in 1986 and in 1987 it won the Japanese Library Association Award as the most popular children's book. 'Kuda Hora' book was translated into seven languages. Wettasinghe has held exhibitions of her work in Japan and Czechoslovakia and in 2003, she was invited to Norway for a book festival for well-known authors. Internationally her work has received high acclaim and attention, in particular for its distinctly vernacular themes and styles.On 6 March 2020, Wettasinghe entered into Guinness Book of World Records for a book with the most number of alternate endings. It was shared with schools in all three languages. The book Wonder Crystal received a total of 20,000 endings where 1200 best entries were featured in a printed version to coincide with the World’s Children’s Day.
- For "The Wesak Lantern" : State Literary Award for best English Children's book in year 1996.
- For "The Child in Me" : The Gratiaen Prize for most Creative English book in year 1995.
- Prize for illustrations of "Deeptha Lama Maga", awarded by Biennial of Illustrations in Bratislava.
- State Literary Award for "Magul Gedara Bath Natho" book in year 1971.
- Best Children's Picture Book award for "The Umbrella Thief" by Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Japan, in year 1986.
- Most popular Children's Book award by International Library of Children's Literature, in year 1987.
- Award for Illustrations of the Sinhala Children's Bible "Deeptha Lama Maga" in year 1989, presented by Biennial of Illustration Bratislava.
- Best Juvenile Children's Book Award for "Meti Gedara Lamay" by the Arts Council of Sri Lanka in year 1992.
- Best English Children's Book award for "Wooley Ball" by the Arts Council of Sri Lanka in year 1994.
- Gratiaen Prize for best English Children's Book for "The Child in Me" in year 1995.
- Hoity the Fox – by the Ministry of Culture and Social Welfare Japan, in year 1995.
- "Vishwa Prasadini" Award for Art and Children's Literature presented by the 1st Female Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Hon. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, in year 1996.
- Award of "Rohana Pradeepa" from the University of Ruhuna in year 2003.
- "Galu Pahansilu" – from the Young Men's Buddhist Association Galle, in year 2004.
- Kala Keerthi award presented by the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, in year 2005.
- "Solis Mendis Award" in year 2007.
- For "Dura Gamanak" The State literary awards
- Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture for 2012
Death