2017 ACT Book of the Year Award winner announced


Released 07/12/2017

Minister for the Arts and Community Events Gordon Ramsay today announced that the winner of the 2017 Book of the Year Award is Tom Griffiths for The Art of Time Travel.

“I would like to congratulate Tom Griffiths for his well-deserved win. The judging panel considered the book to be ‘superbly crafted, presenting history as rational and scholarly – a practice driven by the careful accumulation and evaluation of evidence – as well as an imaginative, literary and popular enterprise speaking to some of our deepest needs as human beings’,” Minister Ramsay said.

“The panel also awarded highly commended to Kim Mahood for Position Doubtful, praising it as ‘an evocative account of cultural translation and mediation in country, one that seeks through words, images and maps, to create a space that acknowledges dispossession and violence and respects difference while working for a shared sense of belonging’.

“Consistent with previous years, the variety and quality of entries was highly impressive. With 30 entries received ranging across fiction, non-fiction and poetry, it was no easy feat for the judging panel to select a winner from a remarkable shortlist and I thank the panel for their commitment to reading the entries.

“I extend my congratulations to our four shortlisted authors - Laura Dawes for Fighting Fit, Russell Erwin for Maps of Small Countries, Jack Heath for The Fail Safe and Jennifer Rayner, Generation Less. Each of their books demonstrated dexterity in writing and a great understanding of their genre and audience,” Minister Ramsay said.

The ACT Book of the Year Award recognises quality contemporary literary works by ACT based writers published in the previous calendar year. The Award aims to support the development of ACT based writers and promoting writing in the ACT. The winner of the Award receives $10,000 with a prize of $2,000 for the highly commended author and $1,000 for shortlisted authors.

A full list of ACT Book of the Year Award past and present winners is available on the Libraries ACT website at www.library.act.gov.au. For more information on the ACT Book of the Year Award, visit www.arts.act.gov.au.

- Statement ends -

Gordon Ramsay, MLA | Media Releases


«ACT Government Media Releases | «Minister Media Releases