At Godage National Book Awards:

Mariam Riza Emerging Writer of the year

Mariam Riza, a young Internal Auditor by profession, won the award for the ‘Emerging Writer’ of the Year 2011 at the 14th Godage National Book Awards held recently. Her short story collection, ‘Cry for Me a Little: Stories of the Souls’ was also shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize for 2011.

Mariam enjoys writing fiction for a purpose and strongly believes that even if one person is inspired or educated by her work, her efforts are justified. Her work has also previously appeared in ‘First Flight’ (2007), Channels Publications and the WriteClique website. Mariam was awarded a prize for her short story in the Channels Publication (2011). During her childhood, she also won several awards from the British Council and other establishments, like the ‘Let the Words Flow’ Competition in 2006.

She is a commissioned fiction writer for the Sunday edition of a daily newspaper in Sri Lanka.

She is also a member of the English Writers’ Cooperative in Sri Lanka. Professionally, Mariam is geared with two qualifications and has her sights set on Entrepreneurship and Business Management.

She is currently reading for her Masters in Business Psychology.