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一 |     中新社上海8月25日电 (记者 陈建新 缪璐)“欢迎大家来大陆，走进校园、走进训练基地，参与训练交流、赛事活动、学习实践。    London, Oct 18 (UNI) "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida" by Sri Lankan Shehan Karunatilaka, a supernatural satire set amid a murderous civil war in the island nation, has won the Booker Prize.

The novel is about a photographer who wakes up dead, with a week to ask his friends to find his photos and expose the brutality of war, BBC and other media reported.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, presented the prize, and the author said it had been "an honour and a privilege" to be on the shortlist.

Karunatilaka said as he accepted his prize: "My hope is that in the not too distant future... Sri Lanka has understood that these ideas of corruption and race-baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work."

The writer said he decided in 2009 to write "a ghost story where the dead could offer their perspective" after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, "when there was a raging debate over how many civilians died and whose fault it was".

"I hope it's in print in 10 years... if it is, I hope it's written in a Sri Lanka that learns from its stories, and that Seven Moons will be in the fantasy section of the bookshop, next to the dragons, the unicorns and will not be mistaken for realism or political satire," the BBC reported

He added that he had "self-censored" a couple of short stories after author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in August, having faced years of death threats for his novel "The Satanic Verses", which some Muslims see as blasphemous.

"I was in the process of publishing a collection of short stories when this incident happened, and I discovered a couple which I don't think was offensive to any religion," Karunatilaka said.

"But my wife said, can you not do that? You've got two young kids. This story is not that good. Just leave it out."

He added that "this is something that hangs over all of us if we're writing in South Asia, especially writing about politics or religion", the BBC said.

Head judge Neil MacGregor praised the "scope and the skill, the daring, the audacity and hilarity" of the novel, calling it an "afterlife noir" which "takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through life and death".

He said the judges' decision had been unanimous, adding all of the shortlisted books were "all really about one question, and that is what's the point of an individual life?"

The prestigious £50,000 prize, for a single work of fiction published in the UK in English, also gives the other five writers on the shortlist £2,500 each.

"The Seven Moons of Maali" is Karunatilaka's second novel, having previously won awards including the Commonwealth Book Prize for his debut book Chinaman, which was called the "second best cricket book of all time" by cricketers' almanac Wisden.

Born in 1975, the writer has also worked as an advertising copywriter, and his songs, scripts and stories have been published in Rolling Stone, GQ and National Geographic.

MacGregor, a former director of London's National Gallery and the British Museum, added that the judges read all 170 books put forward for the prize, then whittled them down to 30. They then re-read those, before deciding on the final six, which they read for a third time, the report said.

The other nominees were: "Glory" by NoViolet Bulawayo, "The Trees" by Percival Everett, "Treacle Walker" by Alan Garner, "Small Things Like These" by Claire Keegan and "Oh William!" by Elizabeth Strout.

The Booker-winning novel tells the story of the photographer of its title, who in 1990 wakes up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. With no idea who killed him, Maali has seven moons to contact the people he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos of civil war atrocities that will rock Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror reported.

The judges were unanimous in their decision to award the prize to Karunatilaka, according to the chair.

Receiving his prize, Karunatilaka addressed the people of Sri Lanka in Tamil and Sinhalese. He summarised what he said in English: “I write these books for you… Let’s keep sharing these stories.”

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is published by the independent press Sort of Books. This year is the first time a book by the publisher has been longlisted for the prize.

Karunatilaka has become the second Sri Lankan-born author to win, following Michael Ondaatje, who won in 1992 with "The English Patient".

In his Guardian review, Tomiwa Owolade said the book’s “scenarios are often absurd … but executed with a humour and pathos that ground the reader”. He added: “Karunatilaka has done artistic justice to a terrible period in his country’s history.”

Karunatilaka, was born in Galle, Sri Lanka, in 1975 and grew up in Colombo.

UNI MR。”25日在上海出席一场两岸青年交流活动时，奥运冠军马龙向台湾青年发出邀请。         　　他说，大陆拥有广阔的体育土壤、完善的培养体系、开放的交流环境，不仅可以培养专业的运动员，也适合每一位热爱运动的年轻人。         　　“同心同行——两岸青年交流季上海站”活动当天开幕，马龙在主论坛上作主旨演讲，分享参与两岸青年交流的故事。                   8月25日，“同心同行——两岸青年交流季上海站”活动开幕，马龙在主论坛上作主旨演讲，分享参与两岸青年交流的故事和感受。中新社记者 汤彦俊 摄          　　2024年底，作为北京体育大学的学生，马龙随大陆高校师生访问团首次踏上宝岛台湾。他表示，见到日月潭，品尝地道美食，接触台湾同胞，让他真切浓烈地感受到两岸同根同源，同胞骨肉天亲，文化没有隔阂，青春没有距离。

二 |          　　他提到，整整9天8夜的行程，一路上随处都能看到大家热情等候的身影。同时还收到很多台湾同胞手写的信件、明信片和用心准备的小礼物。“我们和很多台湾青年成了朋友，临行前依依不舍，约定以后常来常往、多走动。”          　　谈及参访台北故宫博物院、淡水沪尾炮台以及台北孔庙等地的感受，马龙说，我们的民族和文明虽然历经无数风雨磨难，但靠着台湾同胞在内的全体中华儿女的共同坚守，中华民族没有散、中华文明没有断。

三 | “两岸同胞一路走来，始终一脉相承、心手相连、守望相助，守护中华民族共同家园。

四 | ”                    8月25日，“同心同行——两岸青年交流季上海站”活动开幕，马龙在主论坛上作主旨演讲，分享参与两岸青年交流的故事和感受。图为马龙(右一)在论坛现场向参加“同心同行”2026年两岸青少年乒乓球交流赛的两岸选手赠送球拍。中新社记者 汤彦俊 摄          　　在台期间，访问团还赴台湾大学、新竹清华大学等6所高校，以及台北市立中山女子高级中学参访交流。作为乒乓球运动员，让马龙惊喜的是，参访的高校里开设了乒乓球社团，大家都很热爱这项运动。         　　他邀请台湾青年“登陆”体验，感受大陆系统的训练体系、专业的教练团队、浓厚的体育氛围，以及快速的竞技水平提升。         　　论坛现场，他向参加“同心同行”2026年两岸青少年乒乓球交流赛的两岸选手赠送球拍，“希望你们能在场上尽情挥拍，结识更多朋友，也希望我们有机会在球场上交流”。(完)                【编辑:万纪玮】。

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