In 2010 VUP published his The Victims of Lightning which many, including this blogger, thought was Manhire at the height of his powers.However the judges for this year's New Zealand Post Book Awards couldn't find a space for it in their short-list which will have raised some eyebrows around the literary community.
Perhaps, like the fiction category, three-book short-lists don't give them enough room.
Can someone explain to me then why the two non-fiction categories both have short-lists of five while fiction and poetry are confined to three? How stupid is that?
4 comments:
Agree wholeheartedly, Graham.
I definitely wonder if the narrower short list may actually be counterproductive. It showcases fewer talents, so is less likely to draw in a wider range of readers and buyers. So many overseas literary awards manage to have fuller, more generous short lists celebrating excellence... surely we could, too, for our major award for writing for adults?
If Mr Manhire has already won the award 5 times, why does he need another one? That's just being greedy.
Nikita Mr.Manhire has said nothing about this, it was me who made these comments.
And it doesn't matter how many times an author or poet has won the prize previously. That has nothing to do with it. In the opinion of the judges the person who has written the best book wins the award even if he/she has won it on previous occasions.The award is not there to be shared among writers, it is there to be awarded to the best in any given year.
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