'literary crime' novel wins Lillian Ida Smith Award

The New Zealand Society of Authors is pleased to announce that the recipient of the Lillian Ida Smith Award is Auckland writer John MacKinven (pictured right).

Judging panel convenor Robert Elliot says John’s manuscript outline stood out for meeting the most critical elements of the criteria set for the award and his entry deserved the opportunity to move closer to completion.

John’s project, a literary crime novel, grew out of a story of the same name ("Snow on the Desert Road") that came first equal in the Heartland short story competition in 2008.

John says he is delighted and honoured to be the recipient of this award and describes it as a vote of confidence in his work so far. "It's a tremendous psychological boost. And the financial assistance will allow me to make a big leap forward to my goal of completing the first draft before the New Year, and the final draft by April 2012."

The bi-annual Lillian Ida Smith Award was originally established in 1986 when Wanganui music teacher, Lillian Ida Smith bequested part of her estate to assist people aged 35 years or over to embark upon or further a literary career. Ida Smith had long been a passionate supporter of the arts and it was her wish that this award would be used to assist someone embarking on a career or who had not yet had sufficient opportunity to fulfil his/her potential.

Selection Panel: Rae McGregor, Adrian Blackburn, Robert Elliot.

For more information visit http://www.authors.org.nz/.