23 September 2009
NSW Premier and Minister for the Arts, Nathan Rees, announced today that the 2009 NSW Writer’s Fellowship has been awarded to Anna Funder
“Ms Funder is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction book, Stasiland, which recounts the experience of people who resisted the communist dictatorship of East Germany, and of those who worked for its secret police,” said Mr Rees.
One of Australia’s most talented non-fiction writers, Ms Funder has been awarded the prestigious $20,000 NSW Government fellowship to help her write her next book.
“The power of Ms Funder’s writing should not be underestimated,” Mr Rees said.
“Stasiland has been published in 20 countries and translated into 17 languages.
“The NSW Writer’s Fellowship will enable Ms Funder, who lives in Sydney, to work on her next novel, The General’s Pleasure, a fictionalised account of the 18th century explorer Matthew Flinders and his prison guard, General de Caen.
”As with Stasiland, The General’s Pleasure will bring to light extraordinary stories of human courage, endurance and principle – stories that may not have otherwise been told.”
Established in 1982, this annual fellowship – funded by the NSW Government – is awarded to assist the writing of a new literary work by a writer living in NSW. It can be awarded to a novelist, poet, playwright or other writer of fiction or non-fiction.
“Previous winners of the fellowship include Frank Moorhouse in 2007 for his novel Palais de Nations; John Tranter in 2002 for a book of poetry and Colleen Burke in 1999 for her autobiographical novel Looking Over My Shoulder,” Mr Rees said.
”The Government is committed to supporting local writers and encouraging their creativity,” he said.
“The fellowship is part of the Government’s ongoing support for writers and readers and includes the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards which celebrated their 30th anniversary in May and carry a total prize pool of $310,000.
“The NSW Government’s support for literature allows our most promising authors to spend more time concentrating on their writing for the pleasure and education of the reading public,” Mr Rees said.
For details of the NSW Writers Fellowship go to: www.arts.nsw.gov.au/FundingOpportunities