2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize
The shortlists for the 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize Best Book award and Best First Book award for South East Asia and the South Pacific are announced today, 13 February, 2008. An international judging panel, made up of Dr Chris Prentice (New Zealand, Chair), Dr Chitra Sankaran (Singapore) and Professor Dennis Haskell (Australia), have chosen the following books from an impressive list of seventy-five entries.
Best Book Award Steven Carroll The Time We Have Taken Australia HarperCollins
Sonya Hartnett The Ghosts Child Australia Penguin Australia
Sarah Hopkins The Crimes of Billy Fish Australia ABC Books
Mireille Juchau Burning In Australia Giramondo
Michelle De Kretser The Lost Dog Australia Allen & Unwin
Alex Miller Landscape of Farewell Australia Allen & Unwin
Best First Book Award
Steven Conte The Zookeepers War Australia HarperCollins
Karen Foxlee The Anatomy of Wings Australia UQP
Sara Knox The Orphan Gunner Australia/NZ Giramondo
Carol Lefevre Nights in the Asylum Australia Picador
Marcella Polain The Edge of the World Australia Fremantle Press
Stephen Scourfield Other Country Australia Allen & Unwin
Regional Chair, Dr Chris Prentice, comments:
This years entries ranged from major authors, including winners of other distinguished prizes, to promising new writers. Many of the best works combined the sensory with the intellectual, with complex ideas explored through character and narrative. Landscape was a popular theme, while Aboriginal rights and the predicament of refugees were notable social issues. The number of adventurous, imaginative books made the judging of books from this region an enjoyable and exciting task.
This years entries ranged from major authors, including winners of other distinguished prizes, to promising new writers. Many of the best works combined the sensory with the intellectual, with complex ideas explored through character and narrative. Landscape was a popular theme, while Aboriginal rights and the predicament of refugees were notable social issues. The number of adventurous, imaginative books made the judging of books from this region an enjoyable and exciting task.
The winners of the overall Best Book and Best First Book prize will be announced in South Africa in May 2008 after judging by a pan-Commonwealth panel comprising the four regional chairpersons, the Chair of the CWP, Judge Nicholas Hasluck and a representative from South Africa. 10,000 will be awarded to the author of Overall Best Book, and 5,000 to the author of Overall Best First Book.
The Prize is now in its 22nd year. It is organised and funded by the Commonwealth Foundation with the support of the Macquarie Group Foundation across all four regions.
For additional information and comment, please contact:
Dr Chris Prentice
Department of English, University of Otago. Dunedin, New Zealand
Tel: 00 64 3 479 8920 Email: chris.prentice@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
For general information on the prize please contact:
Cathrin Preece at Colman Getty
Tel: 00 44 20 7631 2666 or Email: Cathrin@colmangetty.co.uk
Or visit the prize website: http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/culturediversity/writersprize/
For additional information and comment, please contact:
Dr Chris Prentice
Department of English, University of Otago. Dunedin, New Zealand
Tel: 00 64 3 479 8920 Email: chris.prentice@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
For general information on the prize please contact:
Cathrin Preece at Colman Getty
Tel: 00 44 20 7631 2666 or Email: Cathrin@colmangetty.co.uk
Or visit the prize website: http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/culturediversity/writersprize/
1 comment:
Last year Lloyd Jones won the Regional CWP Best Book Award with Mister Pip and then went on to take out the big prize - International Best Book CWP. This year there is not a NZ title even on either shortlist. Boo hoo.
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