ID :
15289
Fri, 08/08/2008 - 11:01
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https://oananews.org//node/15289
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Four heavyweights on literary shortlist
AAP - Four Australian literary heavyweights have made the shortlist for the 2008 Prime Minister's Literary Awards.
Celebrated Australian writers Thomas Keneally and David Malouf were selected for their works of fiction, while expatriates Germaine Greer and Clive James made the non-fiction list for their recent offerings.
The short-listed fiction books include works in prose, a compilation of short stories and one work in verse.
Booker Prize winner Keneally staked his claim for the award with his wartime novel, The Widow and Her Hero.
"Sixty years on, Grace is still haunted by the tragedy of her doomed hero when the real story of his ill-fated secret mission is at last unearthed," an official summary of the novel says.
Critics said Miles Franklin prize winner David Malouf made this year's shortlist for his "eloquent, resonant, measured prose" in the long-awaited, The Complete Stories, which spans the past 25 years.
Federal Arts Minister Peter Garrett announced the shortlist of seven works of fiction and seven non-fiction books at the NSW State Library in Sydney.
"There is something for everyone in this great list of titles," Mr Garrett said.
Prizes of $100,000 are on offer in both categories, with the prime minister selecting the winners following expert advice from six judges.
The finalists were narrowed down from a pool of 91 works of fiction and 103 non-fiction titles.
Clive James' book, Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time, contains more than 100 essays on the careers of many of the 20th century's greatest thinkers, humanists, musicians, artists and philosophers.
Controversial literary figure Germaine Greer writes about Anne Hathaway, the wife of England's greatest playwright, in Shakespeare's Wife.
The non-fiction works include the popular Vietnam: The Australian War by Paul Ham and A History of Queensland by Raymond Evans.
The winners will be announced next month.
Celebrated Australian writers Thomas Keneally and David Malouf were selected for their works of fiction, while expatriates Germaine Greer and Clive James made the non-fiction list for their recent offerings.
The short-listed fiction books include works in prose, a compilation of short stories and one work in verse.
Booker Prize winner Keneally staked his claim for the award with his wartime novel, The Widow and Her Hero.
"Sixty years on, Grace is still haunted by the tragedy of her doomed hero when the real story of his ill-fated secret mission is at last unearthed," an official summary of the novel says.
Critics said Miles Franklin prize winner David Malouf made this year's shortlist for his "eloquent, resonant, measured prose" in the long-awaited, The Complete Stories, which spans the past 25 years.
Federal Arts Minister Peter Garrett announced the shortlist of seven works of fiction and seven non-fiction books at the NSW State Library in Sydney.
"There is something for everyone in this great list of titles," Mr Garrett said.
Prizes of $100,000 are on offer in both categories, with the prime minister selecting the winners following expert advice from six judges.
The finalists were narrowed down from a pool of 91 works of fiction and 103 non-fiction titles.
Clive James' book, Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time, contains more than 100 essays on the careers of many of the 20th century's greatest thinkers, humanists, musicians, artists and philosophers.
Controversial literary figure Germaine Greer writes about Anne Hathaway, the wife of England's greatest playwright, in Shakespeare's Wife.
The non-fiction works include the popular Vietnam: The Australian War by Paul Ham and A History of Queensland by Raymond Evans.
The winners will be announced next month.
