Reid Lit Chats 2025: A Groundbreaking Festival of Words, Voices, and Vision at the University of Colombo

The first-ever Sri Lankan English literature and language festival organised by the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, was held on 21–22 June 2025. The event featured Q&A sessions with renowned writer-academics Sumathy Sivamohan and Vivimarie Vanderpoorten, a screening of short films by Anomaa Rajakaruna followed by a discussion, a memory walk through the Faculty and surrounding areas with Professor Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, a panel discussion on Sri Lankan English, and interactive workshops with children’s literature writers Nadishka Aloysius and Professor Neluka Silva. A student-only workshop was also conducted by Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe.
The festival concluded with an open-mic session, where students and members of the public shared their poetry and creative writing. Highlighting the University’s commitment to public engagement, the event was student-led and student-focused, offering free entry for students and concessionary rates for others.
Over 70 students from around 15 schools and approximately 70 university students participated in the two-day event. Importantly, the event was graced by the participation of Professor Indika Mahesh Karunathilake, Vice Chancellor of the University, underscoring the university’s strong support for creative and academic engagement in the arts. Reid Lit Chats was organised by a 32-member student committee (with a core team of 13), guided by Co-Chairs Senior Professor Neluka Silva and Ruhanie Perera, along with Rasudula Disanayake and Ravihari Ravendra Kumar, the Department’s temporary lecturers.