PA/36/14 15 October 2014
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR WINS MAN BOOKER PRIZE
Australian High Commissioner Patrick Suckling today congratulated Australian author Richard Flanagan on winning one of the most prestigious literary awards in the English-speaking world, the Man Booker Prize for 2014.
In London overnight, Tasmanian-born Mr Flanagan was awarded the fiction prize for his most recent novel, The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
The book tells the stories of prisoners and their captors on the Burma railway during World War II.
“Australians everywhere share the pride of a fellow Australian being recognised in such esteemed company as the Booker Man Prize shortlist, including Indian-origin author Neel Mukherjee,” Mr Suckling said.
“We are delighted Mr Flanagan has won this award. I hope Indian readers get a chance to read this important book.”
Mr Suckling said Australia and India shared a rich and complex literary tradition.
“There is a wealth of Australian fiction and non-fiction that awaits Indian readers and the Australian High Commission is working to ensure readers from both countries can experience the multifaceted literary traditions of Australia and India,” he said.
“This year we are excited to be hosting a number of Indigenous Australian authors at literary festivals across India and earlier this month, another Man Booker Prize winner, iconic Australian author Thomas Keneally entertained audiences at the inaugural Goa Writers and Readers Festival.”
The Australian Government will support four Australian authors at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2015 – Christos Tsiolkas, Clare Wright, Alexis Wright and Ali Cobby Eckermann.
Indian audiences got a chance to familiarise themselves with Mr Flanagan’s work in 2012, when he toured Delhi and attended the Jaipur Literature Festival.
In November, the Australian High Commission will help launch a youth anthology, Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean, featuring 10 authors and illustrators from both Australia and India. Three Australians will also be part of the renowned Bookaroo children’s book festival in November, supported by the Australian Government.