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New Zealand writer Lloyd Jones has won the South-East Asia and South Pacific region of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book Award 2007 for his novel Mister Pip.
Creative New Zealand chief executive Stephen Wainwright said today it was a wonderful and greatly deserved achievement for Jones.
"Lloyd has been a full-time writer for more than 20 years and is absolutely committed to his craft," Mr Wainwright said.
"I'm delighted that Creative New Zealand has been able to support Lloyd -- firstly to write Mister Pip and now to spend time in Berlin as this year's recipient of the Creative New Zealand Berlin Writers' Residency."
The overall winner of the 21st Commonwealth Writers' Prize will be announced on May 27 at the Calabash International Literary Festival in Jamaica. Jones will join other regional winners from Africa, Canada and the Caribbean, and Europe and South Asia.
Mr Wainwright said Jones' reputation as a writer, the success of Mister Pip and his Berlin residency would all enhance the international profile of New Zealand literature.
Two other novels by New Zealand writers were shortlisted in the South-East Asia and South Pacific Region.
They were Ocean Roads by James George of Auckland and The Fainter by Damien Wilkins of Wellington.
Davey Darling by Paul Shannon of Auckland and The Fish & Chip Song by Carl Nixon of Christchurch were shortlisted in the Best First Book category for the region. The winner was Tuvalu by Andrew O'Connor of Australia.
The Commonwealth Writers' Prize, awarded annually, aims to reward the best in Commonwealth fiction written in English, by both established and new writers, and to take their work to a wider audience.
In 1989 Janet Frame was the regional winner and went on to win the overall Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book Award 1989 for The Carpathians.
The following year, Auckland writer John Cranna won the overall Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best First Book Award 1990 for Visitors.
- NZPA
