Auckland Writers & Readers Festival 2009 to host 23rd Commonwealth Writers Prize

The two overall winners of the twenty-third annual Commonwealth Writers’ Prize will be announced at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival on 16 May 2009.

The Prize, an increasingly valued international award for fiction, is presented by the Commonwealth Foundation. The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize aims to reward the best of Commonwealth fiction written in English, by both established and new writers, and to take their works to a global audience.

All eight regional winners, announced in March, and judges will come together at the Festival for a series of readings, discussions and other public events, the final pan-Commonwealth judging and a presentation ceremony for the winning overall Prizes of £5,000 for the Best First Book winner and £10,000 for Best Book winner.

Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, commented:

“We are very pleased to be bringing the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize back to New Zealand after ten years. To be partnering with such an important festival signals the Prize’s growth and explains how it has come to be recognised as a credible and significant award both on a community and global level.”

“It’s exciting to be partnering with AWRF. The festival offers a fantastic platform for exchange between writers, community groups and international audiences. With a week of activities to take place ahead of the announcement, the entire 2009 final programme promises to be an outstanding experience for everyone involved.”

Jill Rawnsley, Festival Director commented:

“The AWRF is delighted to host the 23rd Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and partner with the Commonwealth Foundation. We eagerly await the announcement of the regional finalists in March, and look forward to witnessing the impact of their interaction with local readers and writers in May.”

“The importance of the Prize is evident in the impressive list of previous winners, some of whom will be in New Zealand for reunions with the 2009 regional finalists and judges. The addition of a series of Commonwealth Writers’ Prize events to the 2009 festival programme is a memorable gift for our audience to mark the festival’s tenth anniversary, and we look forward to welcoming Commonwealth Writers’ Prize guests to Auckland City.”

New Zealand author and 2007 overall winner Lloyd Jones commented:

“When Mister Pip won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Best Book it suddenly moved into a bigger world. On the back of that success it was sold into more countries and went on to win more than its fair share of space on the review pages of newspapers and journals throughout the English-speaking world... And of course I felt and continue to feel very proud of its achievement”

Julie White, Head of the Macquarie Group Foundation – the main supporter of the Prize – comments, “The Macquarie Group Foundation has been supporting the Commonwealth Foundation for four years. We are proud to be associated with such a serious and meticulously judged prize that contributes greatly to the global literary community. We wish the 2009 Prize contenders the best of luck and await introductions to their works of fiction which offer enriching glimpses into other worlds.”

The 2009 pan-Commonwealth panel of judges who will decide the overall winners is chaired by Hon Justice Nicholas Hasluck AM (Chair of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize), and comprises the four regional chairpersons: Elinor Sisulu (Africa); Dr Michael Bucknor (Canada and the Caribbean); Professor Makarand Paranjape (Europe and South Asia); and Dr Anne Brewster (South East Asia and South Pacific). A sixth New Zealand judge will also be appointed.

In 2008, the £10,000 Best Book Prize was awarded to Canadian writer Lawrence Hill for The Book of Negroes. The Best First Book Prize of £5,000 went to Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam for A Golden Age. This was announced at the Franschhoek Literary Festival in South Africa in partnership with the South African Department of Arts and Culture.

Notes to Editors

1. The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, established in 1987, is organised and funded by the Commonwealth Foundation with the support of the Macquarie Group Foundation across all four regions. The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental body working to help civil society organisations promote democracy, development and cultural understanding in Commonwealth countries. The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize is part of the Culture Programme of the Commonwealth Foundation.

2. The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize is organised by the Commonwealth Foundation with the support of the Macquarie Group Foundation.The Macquarie Group Foundation is one of Australia’s leading philanthropic foundations. In the year to 31 March 2008, the Macquarie Group Foundation together with Macquarie Group staff donated $A23 million to more than 800 not-for-profit organisations around the world. It is the philanthropic arm of Macquarie Group Limited, which is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services.

3. The final programme is rotated around the Commonwealth and held in a different location each year. In recent years, the programme has taken place in New Delhi, India (2000), Accra, Ghana (2001), Edinburgh, UK (2002), Calgary, Canada (2003), Melbourne, Australia (2004), Valletta, Malta (2005), and in Melbourne, Australia (2006), to coincide with the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Jamaica (2007), and South Africa (2008).

4. Every year, prizes are given for the Best Book and Best First Book, valued at £1,000, in each of the four Commonwealth Regions: Africa, Canada and the Caribbean, Europe and South Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. From these regions, the overall winner for the Best Book and Best First Book prizes are chosen. The 2009 judges are:

Africa
Elinor Sisulu (South Africa) – Chairperson
Kole Omotoso (Nigeria)
Billy Kahora (Kenya)

Canada and the Caribbean
Dr Michael Bucknor (Jamaica) – Chairperson
Nicholas Laughlin (Trinidad and Tobago)
Dr Pamela Banting (Canada)

Europe and South Asia
Professor Makarand Paranjape (India) – Chairperson
Dr Durre Sameen Ahmed (Pakistan)
Dr Alex Tickell (UK)

South East Asia and South Pacific
Dr Anne Brewster (Australia) – Chairperson
Dr Lydia Joyce Wevers (New Zealand)
Dr Boey Kim Cheng (Singapore)