Ten grand Ted | Book Awards

Ted Middleton O. E. (Ted) Middleton, one of the Grand Old Men of New Zealand fiction, has just won the 2006 Janet Frame Literary Award and pocketed $10,000.

Middleton, in case you're curious, is from Dunedin. But like Janet Frame, he was mentored by Frank Sargeson in Auckland in the 1950s. Frame was a particular fan of Ted's: she once said

O.E. Middleton is a fine writer ... He's the only NZ writer who has made me weep over a story - one called The Stone in a volume of that title.

Middleton has been a Burns Fellow and his Selected Stories shared first prize for Fiction in the New Zealand Book Awards in 1974. He is currently working on a Collected Edition of his stories, and we'll be looking out for that when it is published.

29 Aug 06 | Filed by Chris | Add your comment (4 so far)

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Comment by Stephen ~ August 30, 2006 11:08 AM

This is quite a news scoop! I didn't think the winner would be announced until 12 October.

Comment by Stephen ~ August 30, 2006 4:28 PM

Re my last comment ... I think I got confused with the Katherine Mansfield award (which also has a 10,000 prize).

Comment by Mark Hubbard ~ August 30, 2006 9:03 PM

Yes you did Steve. The BNZ Katherine Mansfield Award is announced on 13 October.

As for Ted Middleton, I've never heard of him, so another one to add to the list.

Comment by Islander ~ September 1, 2006 10:41 PM

Someone might, at some time, want to do a survey of the quite large community of visually disabled writers in ANZ. Ted's one.