Friday, 11 March 2011
A PhD graduate from The University of Western Australia has become the first Indigenous author to win the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best book in South-East Asia and the Pacific.
Kim Scott's winning third novel, That Deadman Dance , is about the harmonious relations between his Noongar people of south-western Australia and the early settlers and the way those relationships deteriorated as white settlement developed.
The novel grew out of research Kim conducted which showed the adaptability of the Noongar people in the region.
Among his other novels and short stories Kim Scott authored Benang: From the Heart, a co-winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2000.
The Commonwealth Writers' Prize is internationally recognised for promoting ground-breaking works of fiction from across the globe.
Kim Scott will compete with other regional winners from Africa, Caribbean and Canada, and South Asia and Europe for the overall Best Book prize to be announced on 21 May.
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