30 November 2011

Inaugural seniors’ literary prize short-listed

Four talented but unpublished older Australian writers are a step closer to seeing their work in print after being shortlisted for the inaugural National Seniors Phillpotts Literary Prize.

Established earlier this year by National Seniors Australia and National Seniors member David Needham, the prize aims to help the winner with the costs of editing, printing, publishing and marketing of a non-fiction work.

Needham said he came up with the idea after researching and writing a book about the life and works of prolific but now little known English author Eden Phillpotts, who died in 1962, pen in hand, at the age of 98.

“Phillpotts was proof (if it is needed), that writing is a great way to keep the mind lucid as we age,” Needham said.

But finding a mainstream publisher for his biography proved more difficult than writing the manuscript and so Needham financed the publication himself - and approached National Seniors to help smooth the way to publication for another author.

“My guess was that among Australian seniors there would be many writers in a similar position to my own;” he said.

The competition, which closed on 30 September, drew a field of 65 eligible entries in a wide range of genres, including biography, autobiography, travel, history, religion and health.

To be eligible, each entrant was required to be an amateur writer and Australian resident aged over 50 and to submit a minimum of 40,000 words on a non-fiction topic.

Authors’ ages ranged from 50 to 86, with more than half over 70. Men and women were represented equally.

Judges for the prize are Emeritus Professor Lucy Frost (University of Tasmania), Peter Gunning (former Superintendent of English for the W.A. Education Department) and Needham.

The names of the four shortlisted books and their authors have been published in the December/January issue of 50 something magazine. They are:

• Nulli Secundus - Second to None byTerence Cardwell
• No Heil Hitler by Paul Cieslar and Jeff Steel
• The Other Half - Colonial Women of Ipswich by Joyce Phillips
• Paradise Wins by Geoff Hoddinott

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in January, on a date yet to be announced

David Needham is available for interview.

Media contact: Rosemary Desmond 07 3233 9106.

---

With a quarter of a million members Australia-wide, National Seniors is the consumer lobby for the over 50s. It is the fourth largest organisation of its type in the world.