Shankari Chandran wins 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award

Sweatshop Writer, Shankari Chandran, has won the 2023 Miles Franklin Award for her incredible novel, Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, which was published by Ultimo Press. 

Shankar’s brilliant epic between Western Sydney and Sri Lanka reminds readers about family and memory, community and race - all wrapped as a love letter to the stories that shape who we are.

The judges of the Miles Franklin had this to say in a joint statement: “Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens treads carefully on contested historical claims, reminding us that horrors forgotten are horrors bound to be repeated, and that the reclamation and retelling of history cannot be undertaken without listening to the story-tellers amongst us.”

Please also read this brilliant article in The Conversation about Shankari’s momentous achievement, which includes a delightful recognition of the wonderful work she has produced with Sweatshop over the past five years.