Booker prize-winning author Shehan Karunatilaka has asked people not to circulate pirated versions of his novel.
Karunatilaka won the prize on Monday for his second novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. In an Instagram story and a Facebook post two days after his win, Karunatilaka said it had “come to light that an unofficial and illegal” pdf version of his book was “doing the rounds on Sri Lankan social media”.
In his post, titled “Do not steal the moon”, the author wrote: “The book took seven years to write, with countless hours of research, craft and hard work poured into it. If you wish to support and honour Sri Lankan art, please do not forward pirated versions of the book and tell those who are circulating it to refrain from doing so.”
Karunatilaka’s book is published in the UK by independent press Sort of Books, while the Indian subcontinent rights – which includes permission to publish and distribute the book in Sri Lanka – are held by Penguin Random House India.
A spokesperson for Karunatilaka and Sort of Books said they understood that in Sri Lanka “deliveries have been held up by issues concerning the currencies with which stock is bought, customs delays and the fact that new stock is purchased immediately due to unprecedented demand”.
Key retailers including the Barefoot Bookshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka have received copies of the book, but demand is “unprecedented and still massively outruns supply”.
“But Sri Lankan booksellers are pushing to remedy this,” added the spokesperson, and The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is being sold in Sri Lankan bookshops, with online shops Sarasavi, Jump Books and Books.lk carrying the version published by Penguin Random House India.
The novel is about a photographer who wakes up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. With no idea who killed him, Maali has seven moons to contact the people he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos of civil war atrocities that will rock Sri Lanka.
In winning, Karunatilaka became the second Sri Lankan author to win the Booker, after Michael Ondaatje won for The English Patient in 1992.
Neil MacGregor, chair of the judges for this year’s prize, said the novel took readers: “on a rollercoaster journey through life and death right to what the author describes as the dark heart of the world.
“And there the reader finds, to their surprise, joy, tenderness, love and loyalty,” he continued.
In his acceptance speech, Karunatilaka said that his hope for the book was that in the future: “it is read in a Sri Lanka that has understood that these ideas of corruption, race-baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work”, and that it would one day “sit on the fantasy shelves of bookshops”.
Towards the end of his speech, Karunatilaka addressed the people of Sri Lanka in Tamil and Sinhalese. He summarised what he said in English: “I write these books for you … Let’s keep sharing these stories.”
