Amongst the shortlisted titles is Ashleigh Young’s book of personal essays, Can You Tolerate This? which last week won the Windham-Campbell Prize worth USD$165,000. Also in this category is Adam Dudding’s debut book, My Father’s Island, a memoir about his father, the legendary literary editor Robin Dudding.
Catherine Chidgey has made the shortlist for the Acorn Foundation Prize for fiction, worth $50,000, with her fourth novel, The Wish Child. Set in Berlin during WW2, The Wish Child tells the story of German families caught up in the corrupt ideology of the Third Reich. The novel has been a bestseller for VUP. It will be published in the UK by Chatto & Windus later this year.
Three VUP poetry titles make up the four poetry finalists this year—Fale Aitu by Christchurch-based poet Tusiata Avia, the hugely popular debut collection by Hera Lindsay Bird, Hera Lindsay Bird, and Fits and Starts, the fifth book by Paris-based Andrew Johnston.
Fergus Barrowman, publisher at VUP, says everyone at VUP is delighted by the recognition of these amazing writers and warmly congratulates them.
The 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards will be held in Auckland as part of the Auckland Writers Festival on Tuesday 16 May.