I’ve been blogging like crazy this week, but there’s good reason for one more post: my short story collection Transported (which you can pre-order online), which will be published by Random House New Zealand in June, is one of four New Zealand short story collections longlisted for the 2008 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award.
The New Zealand collections longlisted are:
- Transported, Tim Jones (Random House New Zealand)
- Etiquette for a Dinner Party, Sue Orr (Random House New Zealand)
- The Girl Who Proposed, Elizabeth Smither (Cape Catley)
- Ask The Posts Of The House, Witi Ihimaera (Raupo)
The Guardian has the full longlist of 39 books and an article about it.
I’m really pleased about this, but it’s important to keep a sense of perspective. It’s a longlist – a looooong longlist. The quality of the other New Zealand selections (congratulations to all the authors!) indicates the strength of the field. The shortlist is announced in July, and I don’t expect Transported to be on it – but I won’t deny that I’ll be very pleased if it is!
It’s also good to see a prize specifically for short story collections, which are sometimes neglected beasts in the literary zoo.
UPDATE: If you’re looking for a review copy of Transported, or other ‘official’ publicity material about the book, please contact Jennifer Balle, jennifer (at) randomhouse.co.nz
