Methamphetamine Survivor a Finalist in Literary Awards

 Former meth. addict Janet Balcombe’s autobiographical novel is a finalist in this year’s Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards.

Works by a former methamphetamine addict, a university professor, a monk, two vicars, a documentary film maker and a mental health commissioner are among the finalists of this year’s Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards, announced today.

There are 11 finalists’ works in the awards, which are organised by the Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust, six in the book category and five in the unpublished manuscript category.  They compete for a $20,000 prize pool, thanks to a bequest from the late businessman, Ashton Wylie.

Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards director, Tim Eddington, says the finalist works are remarkable stories written by people from all walks of life and from all over New Zealand. 

“The finalists make for fascinating and inspiring reading and cover a wide range of topics: a woman tells her story of overcoming methamphetamine addiction, a vicar finds himself conversing with Stephen the Martyr for a period of eight years, the Pacifica concept of ‘aroha atu aroha mai’ being fundamental to well-being and health is examined, the evolution of mysticism is revealed and there’s  a book from a university professor describing ways in which we can re-wire our brains to be less self-centred.”

Mr Eddington said that this year’s entries were of a very high standard. “These finalists demonstrate the best writing since the awards’ inception 12 years ago.”  

The awards are unique in the country for their encouragement of writing in the mind, body, spirit genre.

The complete list of 2015 Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards finalists are:

Book Category

Janet Balcombe (right)          Take A Walk On the Wild Side 

Michael Cocks             Into The Wider Dream

Thomas M Fairs          In Human Terms

Ron Hay                       Finding The Forgotten God

Greg Hopkinson          Boundless: A Wayward Entrepreneur’s Search for Peace

Julie Leibrich               Sanctuary: The Discovery of Wonder

Unpublished Manuscript Category

Keith Hill                     Clapping with two Hands

Hugh Major                 From Monkey to Moth : An Imaginal Evolution

Dr Karlo Mila                         Mana Moana

Sue Reidy                    Small Steps to Happiness: A Guide to Enriching Your Life One Step at a Time

Rohana Ulluwishewa   Spirituality Demystified: Understanding Spirituality in Rational Terms

There are two prizes of $10,000 for the winner of each category. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust’s own venue, Hopetoun Alpha in Auckland on 14 August, 2015.