MISTER PIP CLEARS FIRST HURDLE IN RACE FOR THE BIG PRIZE

Great news this morning - Wellington writer Lloyd Jones has won the South-East Asia and South Pacific Region of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book Award for his novel Mister Pip.

Congratulations Lloyd, I have been one of the judges for this prize on several occasions and I know just how strong the competition is and how hard it is to win this regional prize

The overall winner of the 21st Commonwealth Writers' Prize will be announced on May 27 at the Clabash Literary Festival in Jamaica. At that Festival Lloyd Jones will meet up with the other regional winners from Africa, Canada and the Caribbean, and Europe and East Asia.

Good luck Lloyd!

And here in case you missed it is the Listener review of Mister Pip from October 2006.