In a buzzing Athenaeum Theatre on Collins Street last night it was my great privilege to present The Age’s Book of the Year prize at the opening of the Melbourne Writers Festival.
After seeing so many people gather to celebrate great stories and hearing the passionate yet humble winners speak so generously about their work, I left the theatre feeling warm in spite of the cool night air.
Rodney Hall, 89, won The Age Book of the Year award for fiction for his late-career marvel Vortex.
Melburnians – and Age readers in particular – love a good book almost as much as they love a festival.
The Age Book of the Year award has been handed out more than 40 times now, although there was a hiatus until a few years ago when it was revived. One of the country’s coveted literature prizes, it includes both a fiction and non-fiction award, each worth $10,000. Thanks must go to the Copyright Agency’s cultural fund for its ongoing financial support of these prizes, for which both The Age and the literary community are extremely grateful. The judges, too, deserve our gratitude for their time and dedication.
Our publication, and particularly our arts and culture team, are proud of The Age’s long history covering books and supporting writers across the country. Credit for this history must go to my predecessors who recognised the need to support writers and writing through festivals such as the Melbourne Writers Festival, prizes like The Age Book of the Year, and ongoing coverage of the sector. People such as Jason Steger, Kylie Northover, Melanie Kembrey, Kate Lahey and many other members of our newsroom continue to sustain our literature coverage.
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I firmly believe publications like ours have a duty to support and enthusiastically encourage reading by people of all ages. Engaging with thought-provoking stories is an addiction we are happy to encourage as it improves individuals and enriches society. We welcome debate and discussion of complex and challenging ideas, whether they live in our pages or those of an unclosable novel.
On the question of age range, I left last night’s Writers Festival function with renewed hope that quality writing is not only the preserve of stereotypical chin-stroking beatniks.
Of the two authors to win The Age Book of the Year prizes last night, one, Rodney Hall, is 89. The other, Lech Blaine, is in his early 30s and grew up in a pub in rural Queensland. Two very different authors united by their talent with the written word (and their home state).
