Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Image. Advertisement:

Crowdfunded memoir wins 2016 PEN/Ackerley Prize

Alice Jolly’s crowdfunded book Dead Babies and Seaside Towns (Unbound) has been awarded the 2016 PEN/Ackerley Prize for a work of memoir or autobiography, reports the Bookseller. Jolly received a cheque for £3000 (A$5252) for her memoir, which chronicles her and her husband’s journey to conceive after their second child was stillborn. Upon receiving the award, Jolly said that crowdfunding is ‘clearly … a serious way to publish a book’, adding that it’s not just her book but rather a book for ‘all those people who had the nerve to come forward with their money’. Jolly’s memoir was chosen from a shortlist of three books, which chair of judges Peter Parker described as ‘exceptionally well written’ and ‘compelling’. For more information, visit the English PEN website here.

 

Category: International news