LLOYD OF LONDON VISITS BUCKINGHAM PALACE

An e-mail in from Lloyd Jones overnight, sent from a London internet cafe, reports that he is off to have an audience with Her Majesty the Queen today (11.40am London time) as part of his prize for winning the 2007 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Mister Pip.

Then this evening he is doing a reading at my favourite London bookstore, Daunts, before flying to Toronto for a series of media interviews.

Finally he gets back to Berlin on 30 October as he says " hopefully to total invisibility".

It has certainly be one helluva ride for Lloyd Jones this year, the Commonwealth Writers Prize, The top prize in the Montana NZ Book Awards, the Creative New Zealand Berlin Writers' Residency, and then the biggest of them all, the shortlisting for the Man Booker Prize.

Well done Lloyd, you have my nomination for New Zealander of the Year!