Yasmine Gooneratne
Acclaimed novelist, poet and essayist Yasmine Gooneratne was born in Sri Lanka, and educated at Bishop’s College, Colombo, the University of
Ceylon, Peradeniya, and the University of Cambridge. She is a teacher of English literature by profession and has taught her subject for
extended periods in Sydney, India, and the USA, receiving many awards
including the D.Litt. degree of Macquarie University and the Sahityaratna award of Sri Lanka. In 1990 she received Australia’s national
honour, the Order of Australia, for her contribution to literature and education, and accepted the position of Patron of the Jane Austen Society of Australia. Well known worldwide for her work on Jane Austen and the new writers of the postcolonial world, she is the author of four novels (one of them published online), a family memoir, and several books of poetry. Her third novel, The Sweet And Simple Kind, was shortlisted for the IMPAC Award in2008. Professor Yasmine passed away in 2024.
