Vajra Chandrasekera

Vajra Chandrasekera
Chandrasekera, 2023
Born (1979-08-17) August 17, 1979 (age 47)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
OccupationWriter
SpouseNandini Ramachandran
Writing career
LanguageEnglish
Genresfantasy, science fiction
Notable awardsNebula Award for Best Novel (2023)
Locus Award for Best First Novel (2024)
Crawford Award (2024)
Ursula K. Le Guin Prize (2025)
Websitevajra.me

Vajra Chandrasekera is a Sri Lankan author known for his fantasy and science fiction novels and short stories. His debut novel, The Saint of Bright Doors, won the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 2024 Locus Award for Best First Novel.

Early life and background

Chandrasekera was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His father was a writer and civil servant. Chandrasekera wrote his first short story at nine years old and had his first publication with a Sri Lankan newspaper when he was twelve. His first job at the age of eighteen was "writing fake product reviews of computer hardware." He later became a non-fiction editor in Sri Lanka.

Career

In 2012, he published the poem "Jörmungandr" in Ideomancer. He followed this with the 2013 short stories "Pockets Full of Stones" in Clarkesworld Magazine and "The Jackal's Wedding" for Apex Magazine. His short story "The Translator, at Low Tide" was a finalist for the 2021 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.

In 2023, Chandrasekera published his first novel, The Saint of Bright Doors. In a review for The New York Times, Amal El-Mohtar described the novel as the best book of the year. Jake Casella Brookins, for Locus, described the book as "truly superb" with rich cityscape details and deep investigations of the writing of history and the desire for revolution. Both reviewers noted the novel's stretching of the fantasy genre. Publishers Weekly described the book as "lyrical but sluggish."

The Saint of Bright Doors, won the 2023 Nebula Award, 2024 Locus Award, 2024 Crawford Award, and 2024 Ignyte Award. The book was shortlisted for the 2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize and several others. It was listed as a New York Times Notable Book, Editors’ Pick, and Best Fantasy of 2023.

In 2024, Chandrasekera published his second novel, Rakesfall. It focuses on the reincarnations of Annelid and Leveret through a set of tales in a mixture of perspectives, genres, and plotlines. The book begins with the friends' youth during the fallout of the Sri Lankan civil war. Madeline Schultz, for the Chicago Review of Books, praised the book's unique exploration of colonialism and imperialism, but critiqued the descriptions and disorientation between episodes. New York Times and Publishers Weekly reviews noted the book's challenge and payoff, with Publishers Weekly praising the book's lyricism. Ian Mond, for Locus, said the book's many sections could leave a reader "bewildered," but the ideas and exploration of Sri Lankan colonial history compelled readers forward. Helena Ramsaroop, for Strange Horizons, wrote that Rakesfall compellingly shows grief and hope in the pursuit of liberation. Rakesfall won the 2024 Otherwise Award and 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize. It was also nominated for the 2024 Nebula Award and 2025 Locus Award. The book was a New York Times Notable Book of 2024. It was featured on "The Best Sci-Fi Books of 2024" by Esquire and "The Best Books of 2024" by NPR.

Chandrasekera has placed himself in the New Wave, New Weird, and slipstream literary movements, as well as the blended-genre term science fantasy. He is the author of more than 50 short stories, as well as numerous essays and reviews.

He was one of the 2025-2026 Cullman Center Fellows at the New York Public Library, where he spent his time working on a novel.

His third novel, Hero Come Home, is set to be published on July 7, 2027 from Tor Books.

Awards and reception

Chandrasekera was an editor for the speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons during the six consecutive years that it was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine.

Year Title Award Category Result Ref
2021 "The Translator, at Low Tide" Theodore Sturgeon Award — Finalist
2023 The Saint of Bright Doors BSFA Award Novel Longlisted
Nebula Award Novel Won
2024 British Fantasy Awards Best Newcomer Shortlisted
Crawford Award — Won
Dragon Award Science Fiction Novel Nominee
Hugo Award Novel Finalist
Ignyte Award Novel – Adult Won
Lambda Literary Award Speculative Fiction Finalist
Locus Award First Novel Won
Ursula K. Le Guin Prize — Finalist
Rakesfall Nebula Award Novel Finalist
Otherwise Award — Won
2025 Locus Award Science Fiction Novel Finalist
Ursula K. Le Guin Prize — Won

Bibliography

Novels

Short fiction

Anthology appearances

Anthology (as editor)

References

  1. ↑ "Nandini Ramachandran". choasbogey.com. Retrieved 09-29-2026.
  2. ↑ "Vajra Chandrasekera, About Me". vajra.me. Retrieved 09-29-2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chandrasekera, Vajra (June 2023). "Decades of Aspiration: A Conversation with Vajra Chandrasekera". Clarkesworld Magazine (Interview). No. 201. Interviewed by Arley Sorg.
  4. 1 2 "Pockets Full of Stones". Clarkesworld Magazine. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  5. 1 2 Myman, Francesca (2024-12-09). "Vajra Chandrasekera: The Mythic and the Modern". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  6. 1 2 "The Jackal's Wedding". Apex Book Company. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  7. 1 2 "2021 Sturgeon Award Finalists". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 El-Mohtar, Amal (2024-08-21). "New Speculative Fiction About the Villainous Power of Universities". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  9. 1 2 El-Mohtar, Amal (2023-12-01). "What's Behind That Door?". New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  10. 1 2 Casella Brookins, Jake (2023-10-11). "Jake Casella Brookins Reviews The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  11. ↑ "The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  12. ↑ "The Saint of Bright Doors". Tor Publishing Group. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "100 Notable books of 2023". New York Times.
  14. 1 2 "Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  15. ↑ Schultz, Madeline (2024-07-01). "Whirlwind Exploration in 'Rakesfall'". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  16. ↑ Mond, Ian (2024-07-10). "Ian Mond Reviews Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  17. ↑ Ramsaroop, Helena (2025-02-17). "Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  18. ↑ "100 Notable books of 2024". New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "NYT Notable Books of 2024". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
  20. ↑ "The Best Sci-Fi Books of 2024". Esquire. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
  21. ↑ "NPR's Best Books of 2024". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
  22. ↑ Grifka Wander, Misha (19 June 2024). "At the Periphery of the Grand Narrative: Vajra Chandrasekera on Rakesfall". Ancillary Review of Books. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  23. ↑ "Vajra Chandrasekera in Archives". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  24. ↑ "Meet the 2025–2026 Fellows of the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers". New York Public Library. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Hero Come Home, Vajra Chandrasekera". Macmillan. Retrieved 10 Sept 2026.
  26. ↑ year based on official award year
  27. ↑ Mike Glyer (21 Jan 2024). "Second Round of 2023 BSFA Awards Nominations Begins". File 770. Retrieved 16 Apr 2026.
  28. ↑ "2023 Nebula Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  29. ↑ "Vajra Chandrasekera". Nebula Awards. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  30. ↑ "2024 British Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 3 Aug 2025.
  31. ↑ "Chandrasekera Wins Crawford". Locus. March 4, 2024.
  32. ↑ "2024 Dragon Awards Ballot". Locus. 6 Aug 2024. Retrieved 5 Jul 2025.
  33. ↑ "2024 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Award. 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  34. ↑ "2024 Ignyte Award Winners". Locus. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  35. ↑ "Announcing the Winners of the 2024 Lammy Awards". lambdaliterary.com. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  36. ↑ "2024 Locus Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  37. ↑ "The 2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize in Fiction". ursulakleguin.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  38. ↑ "2024 Nebula Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  39. ↑ Hartman, Jed (2025-05-06). "Announcing the 2024 Otherwise Award winners!". Otherwise Award. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  40. ↑ "2025 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2025-06-21. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  41. ↑ "2025 Ursula K Le Guin Prize for Fiction". ursulakleguin.com. Retrieved May 11, 2026
  42. ↑ "Sweet Marrow". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  43. ↑ "Apologia". future-sf.com. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  44. ↑ "The Translator, at Low Tide". Clarkesworld Magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  45. ↑ "Peristalsis by Vajra Chandrasekera". psychopomp.com. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  46. ↑ "Theses on the Scientific Management of Goetic Labour". Uncanny Magazine. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  47. ↑ "The Mercer Seat". future-sf.com. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  48. ↑ "The Age of Cancer". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 16 August 2026.