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A comprehensive history of the New Zealand gold rushes and the life and works of author CK Stead will be written, thanks to two $35,000 writers' awards from Copyright Licensing Ltd (CLL).
Social historian Steven Eldred-Grigg said the prize meant he had the freedom to work on a book about his life-long interest in the gold rushes.
Author and academic Judith Dell Panny said the award was tremendously encouraging and brought recognition to her work she had not received before.
"CK Stead was an outstanding writer whose work has been underrated perhaps because of his reputation for criticism and controversy," she said about the subject of her upcoming book. The prizemoney was to go towards helping the two authors write their books without worrying about financial constraints.
Wellington-based Eldred-Grigg said the gold rushes were like a "tsunami" that swept through most of New Zealand.
The book would cover the period from the 1850s through to the late 1870s, covering the major rushes in the country.
Massey university researcher Dell Panny was on her way to London for the launch of Stead's latest novel, My Name was Judas. But she did earlier thank CLL for allowing her to continue to research and write her book, Plume of Bees: A Literary Biography of CK Stead.
- NZPA
