#About
Janaka Malwatta was born in Kandy, the hill capital of Sri Lanka, grew up in London, and moved to Brisbane in 2010. He writes about his experiences as an immigrant in two continents. He also writes narrative poetry, often exploring Sri Lankan stories. He won the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize in 2021. His first collection, blackbirds don’t mate with starlings, is available from University Queensland Press. He has also been published in Cordite Poetry Review, Rabbit Poetry, Peril Magazine and on the ESPN Cricinfo.com blog The Cordon. He is one half of the poetry and tabla collective Dubla. Their CD A Beautiful Land is available from Bandcamp.