Last Wednesday, in my day-job capacity, I hopped on the plane to Sydney to help judge the Australasian advertising awards. And it seems like awards are definitely the flavour of the week.
Just before I left, news came through that Elizabeth Knox had won the Esther Glen Award for Dreamhunter. A good result for Fergus Barrowman’s other half, and for those who like to pigeon-hole, justification for Ms Knox switching genres.
On Thursday night, Charlotte Grimshaw (pictured) took the top prize in the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Awards, pocketing $10,000 for her story Plane Sailing. Given that Dad C K Stead is a former winner of the Mansfield, one can assume that even more champagne corks than usual were popped in Parnell that night. (Although perhaps not at the Kidman residence.)
On the same day, Storylines revealed that a certain Frances Plumpton was the winner of the 2006 Betty Gilderdale Award for services to children’s literature. Plumpton has been involved with children’s books for more than 30 years - as a member of the Children’s Literature Association, a foundation member of the Children’s Book Foundation, a book reviewer, and judge for both LIANZA and the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Law firm Buddle Findlay celebrated the 20th anniversary of its literary sponsorship by doubling the annual grant it makes to the Sargeson Fellowship - from $20,000 to $40,000 a year. The delectable Emily Perkins is the current holder of the fellowship, and took up her year-long tenure at the Sargeson apartment in February, where she’s been working on her new book Novel About My Wife.
On the international front, Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, who once faced charges for insulting his country, won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Swedish academy, in awarding the US$1.36m prize, said that Pamuk had “discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures.” Some observers are claiming that the prize was politically motivated, although Pamuk has won several high-profile literary awards in the recent past.
For those of you who heaven’t heard, the Man Booker was won by New York-based and Indian-born author Kiran Desai for her novel, The Inheritance of Loss. That was a bit of a surprise, and not just for the New Zealand Book Forum pollsters. The Booker is now at the centre of a fuss around Martin Amis' House of Meetings, or rather, the curious absence of Amis’ book from the Booker longlist.
And to top it all off, NZ Book Month has won a $300,000 grant from the powers-that-be to continue its services to New Zealand literature for another three years. Wow.
Right, now we're off to another ceremony - not an award, but the launch of friend and neighbour Alessandra Zecchini's new cookbook, Savour. Now that's a better proposition than the current blast furnace heat of Sydney. Nice to be home.
15 Oct 06 | Filed by Chris | Add your comment (16 so far)
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Comment by fergus ~ October 15, 2006 6:18 PM
Does the $100,000 per year for NZ Book Month come out of Creative New Zealand funds, or is it (let's hope) something special?
Comment by kathy ~ October 15, 2006 8:18 PM
Something special from them in t'gummint. CNZ could only give a bit, busy as they are being everybody's best friend. Other funding came from sales of The Six Pack, the book trade, but mostly from Ferrit, bless them.
Comment by fergus ~ October 16, 2006 11:01 AM
The $300,000 grant is great news, as it would be a shame if NZ Book Month was cannibalising existing resources. And great that its future is assured with a full year to talk and plan. (For instance, it's still not clear to me whether The Six Pack -- impressive as its sales are -- is in fact successfully advancing the objectives of NZBM, and not just competing in the market with recently published books and anthologies.)
Comment by pjkm ~ October 16, 2006 3:09 PM
It seems like the Six Pack is here to stay, though - according to the Creative NZ web site, "next month will see the call for entries into The 2007 Six Pack Competition." I know it's heresy to suggest this, but I think an anthology with excerpts of existing/new books - i.e. a promotional tool to promote further sales beyond the Six Pack book itself - would have more an even greater long-term impact. (When I read a story I like in an anthology, I often end up buying a book by that writer.)
Comment by gabrielle ~ October 16, 2006 3:51 PM
Is your 'not at the Kidman residence' comment necessary, or even deserved? Charlotte Grimshaw said on National Radio that she was invited to submit a story for the Best New Zealand Fiction anthology, which as it happens is edited by Fiona Kidman.
Comment by Islander ~ October 16, 2006 4:38 PM
Gabrielle, this year's (2006-7) NZBestFiction is edited by Fiona FARRELL
Comment by Islander ~ October 16, 2006 9:29 PM
O another wee thing: TimeOut & the NZ Herald had a "Best Beloved NZ Book" competition, and this was noted of the 'NZBookMonth' site: guess who won it???
And - notice there ISNT any notice of it on that site?
Swooping round The Web tho'-
Comment by Mary Mac ~ October 16, 2006 11:15 PM
This off the Random House website:
The Best NZ Fiction: Volume 3, Edited by Fiona Kidman
Comment by Islander ~ October 17, 2006 10:50 AM
Yep mary mac, Kidman indeed edited earlier editions of BNZF - but, according to my invite to submit something for the 2006-7 edition, Farrell is doing the job now. Because of the current nature of the reported Grimshaw remarks, it's probable that she is referring to the Farrell invitation too.
Comment by gabrielle ~ October 17, 2006 7:34 PM
Sorry Islander but taking a leaf from Mary Mac's book, I too went to the Random House website, and the blurb for Best New Zealand Fiction 3 (edited by Fiona Kidman) also mentions Charlotte Grimshaw as being in this collection. Not that I'm trying to promote the book or anything, but I thought I'd better supply proof in the form of a copy and paste:
As this latest collection of short stories shows, the standard of New Zealand writing today can hold its own on the world stage. It also, though, has a distinctly local flavour, depicting our landscape and experiences as well as our wry insights and tone. Coming from a variety of writers and representing the best stories written over the past year, this third annual collection is a thoroughly entertaining read. There's love and there's lust, there's travel and there's murder, there's childhood memories and the trials of growing old. Beautifully written, it's the ideal book for sampling New Zealand writing today. Contributors: Maxine Alterio, Geoff Cochrane, Sian Daly, Sue Emms, Tracy Farr, James George, Charlotte Grimshaw, Lloyd Jones, Owen Marshall, Sue McCauley, Carl Nixon, Vincent O'Sullivan, Jo Randerson, Tina Shaw, Alice Tawhai, Fay Weldon, Peter Wells, Jane Westaway, Susan Wylie, Spiro Zavos.
I'm not quite sure how to say 'so there' without seeming to say 'so there'. Maybe I should just say 'I told you so'! No hard feelings I hope - Grimshaw and Kidman appear to have got over theirs...
Gabrielle
Comment by Islander ~ October 17, 2006 9:31 PM
Hmmm. Dates. When, exactly, did Grimshaw do her hatchet job on Kidman? The 2003 anthology would've been recruited in 2002, right?
Annnd-
Comment by pjkm ~ October 18, 2006 2:42 AM
Charlotte had stories in Best NZ Fiction 2 (as well as the new Best NZ Fiction 3): volume 2 was published in late 2005, and writers were solicited - as I recall - a year before that. Both of these volumes were edited by Fiona Kidman. The review that began the "feud" appeared in late November, 2003. So both invitations from Fiona (to submit a story for the anthology) took place after the review appeared, letters were exchanged in the Listener, etc.
Comment by Mary Mac ~ October 18, 2006 12:59 PM
Apparently Lynn Freeman's Arts on Sunday show had an interview with Charlotte G last weekend (still available on RNZ's Weekly audio on demand) and she says very early on that she was invited to send a story to BNZF by Fiona Kidman (not Farrell).
Comment by Islander ~ October 18, 2006 1:43 PM
Good to learn more - thanks all.
However, my invitation to contribute to the 2006-7 BNZF is unequivocally from Fiona Farrell-
Comment by Karen ~ October 31, 2006 4:08 PM
I have The Best New Zealand Fiction Volume 3 in front of me.
It is edited by Fiona Kidman and contains a Charlotte Grimshaw story.
Comment by charlotte grimshaw ~ November 28, 2006 2:22 PM
Was surprised to come upon an exchange re Fiona Kidman and me - (have never looked at this site before.) Can't resist chipping in. Fiona Kidman asked me to do a short story for Best NZ Fiction 2 well after I'd reviewed her novel. I very promptly said yes, (and in fact have now ended up doing a whole collection.) She then asked me to contribute to the Best NZ Fiction 3, which I did, and now I''ve done one for 4, for Fiona Farrell. CG.
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