South Pacific literati

Five NZ writers are finalists for this year’s Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, one of the most prestigious  literary awards. Ocean Roads by James George, Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones and The Fainter by Damien Wilkins (pictured) have been nominated for Best Book in the South East Asia and South Pacific section, while Davey Darling by Paul Shannon and The Fish & Chip Song by Carl Nixon have been short-listed for Best First Book. The regional winners will be announced in March and the overall winner in May. The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize was established by the Commonwealth Foundation in 1987, with the aim of giving authors an audience and recognition outside of their country of origin. Previous winners include Janet Frame, David Malouf, Rohinton Mistry, Zadie Smith, Murray Bail, Peter Carey and JM Coetzee.