Vajra Chandrasekera

Chandrasekera was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His father was a writer and civil servant.^[3] Chandrasekera's 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.^[3]

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.^[4][5][6] His short story "The Translator, at Low Tide" was a finalist for the 2021 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.^[7]

In 2023, Chandrasekera published his first novel, The Saint of Bright Doors.^[8] Amal El-Mohtar, in a review for The New York Times, described the novel as the best book of the year.^[9] 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.^[10] Both reviewers noted the novel's stretching of the fantasy genre.^[9][10] Publishers Weekly described the book as "lyrical but sluggish."^[11]

In 2024, Chandrasekera published the novel Rakesfall.^[8] 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.^[12] 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.^[13] New York Times and Publishers Weekly reviews noted the book's challenge and payoff, with Publishers Weekly praising the book's lyricism.^[8][12] 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.^[14] Helena Ramsaroop, for Strange Horizons, wrote that Rakesfall compellingly shows grief and hope in the pursuit of liberation.^[15]

Chandrasekera has placed himself in the New Wave, New Weird, and slipstream literary movements, as well as the blended-genre term science fantasy.^[5][16] He is the author of more than 50 short stories, as well as numerous essays and reviews.^[3][17]

He was one of the 2025-2026 Fellows of the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, where he spent time working on his third novel.^[18]

Chandrasekera's first novel, The Saint of Bright Doors, won the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2024 Locus Award for Best First Novel, the 2024 Crawford Award, and the 2024 Ignyte Award for Outstanding Novel – Adult. The book was shortlisted for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize, and the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Speculative Fiction. It was listed as a New York Times Notable Book, Editors’ Pick, and Best Fantasy of 2023.^[19][20]

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.^[3]

His second novel, Rakesfall, won the 2024 Otherwise Award and the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize. The novel was also nominated for the 2024 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 2025 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. It was a New York Times Notable Book of 2024.^[21][22] It was featured on "The Best Sci-Fi Books of 2024" by Esquire and "The Best Books of 2024" by NPR.^[23][24]