AustLit
Notes
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The Hawthornden Prize is a British Literary Award. It was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender, a contemporary patron of the letters, and named after William Drummond of Hawthornden. Along with the James Tait Black Award which was established that same year, the Hawthornden is one of the UK's oldest literary prizes. It has been given annually ever since, with a few gaps.
There is no set category of literature: the specification is for the "best work of imaginative literature", but there is no implied restriction to fiction and poetry. Those, with drama, but also biography, travel writing and other types of non-fiction, have been recognised over the years. The current value of the prize is £10,000; young writers are especially encouraged.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthornden_Prize (Sighted 24/07/2007)
Latest Winners / Recipients
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Year: 2007
winner y
Carry Me Down
Melbourne
:
Text Publishing
,
2006
Z1247272
2006
single work
novel
thriller
'John Egan is a misfit — "a twelve year old in the body of a grown man with the voice of a giant" — who diligently keeps a "log of lies." John's been able to detect lies for as long as he can remember, it's a source of power but also great consternation for a boy so young. With an obsession for the Guinness Book of Records, a keenly inquisitive mind, and a kind of faith, John remains hopeful despite the unfavorable cards life deals him.
'This is one year in a boy's life. On the cusp of adolescence, from his changing voice and body, through to his parents’ difficult travails and the near collapse of his sanity, John is like a tuning fork sensitive to the vibrations within himself and the trouble that this creates for he and his family.
'Carry Me Down is a restrained, emotionally taut, and sometimes outrageously funny portrait whose drama drives toward, but narrowly averts, an unthinkable disaster.' (Publication summary)
