The 60th State Literary Awards Ceremony organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs was held on the 8th September 2017 at the Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) – Mahinda Rajapakse Theatre with the participation of His Excellency the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Mithripala Sirisena.
The award winner for the “Best Layout & Interior Design in 2017” was the Senior Lecturer, Aruna Lokuliyana, the Head of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Kelaniya. The award was received by him for the Best Layout & Interior Design created on behalf of the felicitation volume named “Samprasādana” for Prof. K.M.P. Kulasekara of the Department of History, University of Kelaniya.
In addition, Senior Lecturer Aruna Lokuliyana was awarded for the “Best Cover Design” at the State Literary Awards Ceremony held earlier in 2000 on behalf of the cover design created for the “Jana Kiyaman Potha”- a Glossary of Folklore authored by Emeratus Prof. Sunanda Mahendra.
Furthermore, “Sabaragamuwa Gami Nataka”- a book authored by Mr. Mangala Keerthi De Pasqual, Media Coordinator of the Communication and Media Unit of the University of Kelaniya was nominated for the “Academic and Research publication of the year 2017”
