Book Prizes and Other Links

PRIZES AND AWARDS

2011 Man Booker Prize

19 October 2011 

 

The 65-year-old previously missed out three times for the prestigious literary award.
Barnes's 11th novel explores childhood friendship and the imperfections of memory. 

The Shortlisted Titiles

Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending (Jonathan Cape - Random House)

Carol Birch Jamrach’s Menagerie (Canongate Books)

Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers (Granta)

Esi Edugyan Half Blood Blues (Serpent’s Tail)

Stephen Kelman Pigeon English (Bloomsbury)

A.D. Miller Snowdrops (Atlantic)

2011 Commonwealth Writers' Prize

Best Book Winner – The Memory of Love, Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone)

The judges praised The Memory of Love for its risk taking, elegance and breadth. A poignant story about friendship, betrayal, obsession and second chances – the novel is an immensely powerful portrayal of human resilience. The judges concluded that The Memory of Love delicately delves into the courageous lives of those haunted by the indelible effects of Sierra Leone’s past and yet amid that loss gives us a sense of hope and optimism for their future. Forna has produced a bold, deeply moving and accomplished novel which confirms her place among the most talented writers in literature today.

Best First Book Winner – A Man Melting, Craig Cliff (New Zealand)

The judges chose this highly entertaining and thought provoking collection of short stories for their ambition, creativity and craftsmanship. Confidently blending ideas that frequently weave outlandish concepts with everyday incidents, the prose is skilfully peppered with social observations that define the world we live in. The eighteen short stories are truly insightful and amplify many of the absurdities around us, reflecting our own expectations, fears and paranoia on the big questions in life. This book is of the moment, and is rightly at home on a global platform. Cliff is a talent to watch and set to take the literary world by storm.

2011 Commonwealth Writers' Prize - Regional Shortlists

Africa Best Book:

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone)
Men of the South by Sukiswa Wanner (South Africa)
The Unseen Leopard by Bridget Pitt (South Africa)
Oil on Water by Helon Habila (Nigeria)
Blood at Bay by Sue Rabie (South Africa)
Banquet at Brabazan by Patricia Schonstein (South Africa)

Africa Best First Book:

Happiness is a Four Letter Word by Cynthia Jele (South Africa)
Bitter Leaf by Chioma Okereke (Nigeria)
The Fossil Artist by Graeme Friedman (South Africa)
Colour Blind by Uzoma Uponi (Nigeria)
Voice of America by E. C. Osondu (Nigeria)
Wall of Days by Alastair Bruce (South Africa)

Canada and Caribbean Best Book:

The Sky is Falling by Caroline Adderson (Canada)
Room by Emma Donahue (Canada)
The Master of Happy Endings by Jack Hodgins (Canada)
In The Fabled East by Adam Lewis Schroeder (Canada)
The Death of Donna Whalen by Michael Winter (Canada)
Mr. Shakespeare’s Bastard by Richard B. Wright (Canada)

Canada and Caribbean Best First Book:

Bird Eat Bird by Katrina Best (Canada)
Doing Dangerously Well by Carole Enahoro (Canada)
Mennonites Don’t Dance by Darcie Friesen Hossack (Canada)
Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod (Canada)
The Cake is for the Party by Sarah Selecky (Canada)
Illustrado by Miguel Syjuco (Canada)

South Asia and Europe Best Book:

Lyrics Alley by Leila Abouleila (UK)
The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore (UK)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (UK)
The Long Song by Andrea Levy (UK)
Sex and Stravinsky by Barbara Trapido (UK)
Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett (UK)

South Asia and Europe Best First Book:

Serious Men by Manu Joseph (India)
Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph (India)
The House with the Blue Shutters by Lisa Hilton (UK)
Children of the Sun by Max Schaefer (UK)
Grace Williams says it Loud by Emma Henderson (UK)
Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller (UK)

South East Asia and Pacific Best Book:

Reading Madame Bovary by Amanda Lohrey (Australia)
That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (Australia)
Time’s Long Ruin by Stephen Orr (Australia)
Hand Me Down World by Lloyd Jones (New Zealand)
Notorious by Roberta Lowing (Australia)
Gifted by Patrick Evans (New Zealand)

South East Asia and Pacific Best First Book:

21 Immortals by Rozlan Mohd Noor (Malaysia)
A Man Melting by Craig Cliff (New Zealand)
The Graphologist’s Apprentice by Whiti Hereaka (New Zealand)
The Body in the Clouds by Ashley Hay (Australia)
Traitor by Stephen Daisley (Australia/New Zealand)
A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill (Australia)

Orange Prize Winners 2011

8 June 2011 – Serbian/American author Téa Obreht has won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction with her debut novel The Tiger's Wife. At 25, Obreht is the youngest-ever author to take the Prize.

2011 NZ Post Children's Book Award Winners Announced

• 2011 Book of the Year: The Moon and Farmer McPhee
• Picture Book: The Moon and Farmer McPhee
• Junior Fiction: Finnigan and the Pirates
• Young Adult Fiction: Fierce September
• Non-fiction: Zero Hour: The Anzacs on the Western Front
• Best First Book Award: Hollie Chips
• Children's Choice Picture Book: Baa Baa Smart Sheep
• Children's Choice Non-fiction: Who's Cooking Tonight?
• Children's Choice Junior Fiction: Hollie Chips
• Children's Choice Young Adult Fiction: Smiling Jack

2010 NZ Post Children's Book Award Winners Announced

The overall winner was Old Hu-Hu by Kyle Mewburn illustrated by Rachel Driscoll
Click here to see the other fabulous books that were the finalists and winners in each category

Orange Prize Winners 2010

The winner was The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Click here to see the other finalists in this strong list of women writers

Mann Booker Prize 2010

This has been won by Howard Jacobson with Finklers Question - read the interview below with the Guardian

Interview with the Guardian

The winner for 2009 was Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel