Banner Evening for Berkley at 2022 Thriller Awards
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Berkley author Amanda Jayatissa’s MY SWEET GIRL won the Thriller Award for Best First Novel at ITW’s Thrillerfest this past weekend in New York. This win marks the first Thriller Award win for Berkley.
Amanda Jayatissa accepting the Thriller Award for Best First Novel with Berkley author and evening’s emcee Mark Greaney in the background
In her moving acceptance speech, Amanda said, “My beautiful country Sri Lanka is going through a really hard time right now and the fact that you selected a book from there, it means the world to me.” Amanda and her husband, Chathura, currently live in Sri Lanka and came to New York for the event.
MY SWEET GIRL was published in September 2021 to rave national reviews. NPR.org called it “a thriller centered on the meaning of identity and all the layers it can have” and the Washington Post said the book “pushes the boundaries of what a thriller can do.” Amanda’s follow-up novel, YOU’RE INVITED, goes on sale August 9 and is also set in Sri Lanka.
#1 New York Times bestselling Berkley author Mark Greaney (The Gray Man series) was the emcee for the award ceremony. Berkley also had a nomination for Best Paperback Original Novel for C.J. Cooke’s THE LIGHTHOUSE WITCHES.
Amanda Jayatissa and Berkley Executive Editor Jen Monroe
Amanda Jayatissa with Jen Monroe and Loren Jaggers after receiving her award