Local authors in the running for $12,000 literature prize
Congratulations to the five contenders for the 2016 City of Fremantle T.A.G. Hungerford Award. Catherine Gillard, Jay Martin, Jodie Tes, Tineke Van der Eecken and David Thomas Henry Wright are in the running for $12,000 in prize money and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press.
Fremantle Press fiction publisher Georgia Richter said the shortlisted manuscripts grappled with being a stranger in a strange land – referencing other places and defining themselves in relation to them.
‘Two creative non-fiction pieces portray women following their husbands overseas and, of the three novels, two explore the experience of immigration while a third includes a convincing rendering of life in China and North Korea,’ said Richter.
Despite the international themes, a large proportion of 2016 entrants came from Fremantle and surrounding areas – something that’s new for this anonymously judged award. This was offset by the trend, as in former years, of attracting a substantial number of entries from WA’s regional writers.
Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said he was pleased to see a high number of local entries, with one in six entries overall from the Fremantle area and four of the shortlisted writers being Fremantle residents.
‘Having so many local entries and finalists shows what a strong creative and literary culture Fremantle has nurtured. The City of Fremantle is proud to sponsor this award which has grown in status year-on-year and has provided a springboard for some very talented writers,’ Mayor Pettitt said.
The Hungerford is given biennially to a full-length manuscript of fiction or creative non-fiction, by a Western Australian author previously unpublished in book form.
Download the media release and read the judges’s report
