Greer and James shortlisted for Australia's richest literary prize
Alison Flood writing in The Guardian,Thursday August 07 2008

Clive James and Germaine Greer are both in the running for the inaugural Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards, which will be judged by prime minister Kevin Rudd himself.

James, nominated for his guide to culture in the 20th century, Cultural Amnesia, told the Guardian it was "fantastic to be a contender", but suggested that he had little chance of winning.
"I can't see Germaine or me winning the prize as it would perhaps be seen as subsidising ex-pats," he said. "I presume it will be judged on merit, but the rest of the list is very strong."

He was unconcerned about the prizes' controversial format, suggesting that Rudd would be unlikely to read the shortlists in their entirety, since the prime minister "has a world to save". But he said it was "very good to have him on the case". "He's a man of considerable intellect ... I'm rather sorry I didn't write my book in Chinese, as he reads Chinese."
James welcomed the prizes' introduction. "It's always an excellent idea for Australia to offer prizes - I think they are better than subsidies," he said.
"Australia is a big reading country per capita but it has a small population," he continued. "The market is hardly big enough to support an author so prizes really mean something."

The awards will be Australia's richest literary prizes, with tax-free cheques of A$100,000 (£47,000) awarded to both fiction and non-fiction winners, and are designed to celebrate the contribution of Australian literature to the nation's cultural and intellectual life. Six judges selected the shortlists, with the final decision on the winners to be made by Rudd after recommendations from the judges. Rudd said the shortlists were "an impressive indication of the outstanding breadth and quality of modern Australian literature".

Reda the rest at the Guardian online.