Born just a week after Stalin died, Geoffrey lived for 14 years in the Soviet Union, 4 years in Poland and 2 years in the former Yugoslavia, with interval years in India, Italy and England. Of Anglo-Irish and Australian parents, his father was a diplomat and mother a journalist turned best selling author. It was during a holiday, whilst living in Hong Kong, that Geoffrey first discovered Ceylon. He bought the Island of Taprobane in Weligama and opened several hotels. Geoffrey has since been credited with spearheading the boutique hotel industry in Galle, Sri Lanka.
Following the tsunami Geoffrey set up the charity Adopt Sri Lanka, which spent over 4 million dollars alleviating the plight of many Sri Lankans.
After founding the Galle Literary Festival in 2005 to drive tourism and literary excellence in Sri Lanka, he was honoured by the President of Sri Lanka for services rendered to tourism and for the work he did following the Tsunami.
Born to Trinidadian/British parentage, the island of Ceylon has many familiarities for Giselle. Moving to Galle from Dubai a few years ago, Giselle and her husband Joseph De Alwis, opened Wild & the Sage; a quaint independent bookshop on the south coast. The shop quickly established itself as an arts and literary hub, hosting author talks, children’s story time, workshops and bookclubs.
Prior to this Giselle studied Design at Central St Martins and then Camberwell. She went on to pursue a career in the international events industry, working on Olympic Ceremonies, World Expo’s and many UAE Government projects. Along with her love of the written word, Galle Literary Festival has long been a dream and she hopes to nurture the charm already established by the festival and ensure its a staple on the international events calendar.